WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 141: The Turbulent Road Home (6)

──────

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's arrival had been inevitable.

She had all but lost every master beneath her.

Considering what had happened in the City of Master Craftsmen and the Desolate Fortress's Qizhou Branch, it was only natural for her, as the head of her faction, to come punish Jeong Yeon-shin and the Desolate Fortress masters.

Nor was the Lord of Desolate Fortress's appearance strange.

She had called Ma Yeon-jeok an old friend.

Having received word that her close friend, who had served as the Divine Sword Squad Leader for decades, had become crippled, she could have come all the way here before Ma Yeon-jeok drew his last breath.

Still, it was mysterious.

The sight of the Lord of Desolate Fortress stepping out behind the Pure Demon Alliance Leader was just that.

The affairs of the martial world could be astonishing.

Was it mere coincidence that their timing had aligned?

Did those who wielded Heaven-granted power to its limits receive some special mandate from Heaven?

Considering the ability of Jeong Yeon-shin's upper dantian, it was not an entirely absurd assumption.

Or perhaps the Lord of Desolate Fortress had spotted the Pure Demon Alliance Leader first and was delaying their clash, all while feeling the wind brush against her skin as usual.

If so, why? She had once defeated even the Blood Flame Sect Master without hesitation.

Just as another wave of questions filled the boy's mind...

Step.

It was a truly strange sight.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress approached amid the verdant leaves. It was as though she had let her presence drift down like mist through the gaps between the trees.

The most noble of the elven race.

The ability she wielded within the forest meshed with the martial prowess of a supreme master. It was enough to deceive even the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's aura sense.

Only after the Lord of Desolate Fortress had completely emerged from the shade did the Pure Demon Alliance Leader seem to notice her presence.

It happened in an instant. She spun around, her blue eyes widening. She looked utterly startled.

“...!”

Jeong Yeon-shin had already begun circulating his inner energy. The halo at his heart spun.

Qi filled the Renying acupoints on either side of his Adam's apple and the Lianquan acupoint directly above his vocal cords. He immediately sent a sound transmission.

―No aura can leak out.

His maternal grandfather was in danger. He had to stop it, even if it meant committing the discourtesy of whispering into the Lord's ear.

For a moment, the Lord of Desolate Fortress's green eyes swept over the boy.

As if welcoming the woman who had parted the forest's shade like a curtain, a cluster of sunlight settled over her pale face.

Moon Spirit Divine Technique.

A faint radiance rose from her body. Her wide, pale-green sleeves, like those of a court robe, fluttered slightly.

A moonlike glow wrapped around the contours of her garments and filled the entire space.

Aura barrier.

She materialized qi and formed a solid barrier. A massive shield of inner energy spread outward, sturdy enough to shove Jeong Yeon-shin back.

Krrrraack.

His feet carved furrows through the ground as he was pushed away. The boy raised his eyes.

An aura barrier with a radius of roughly ten jang had formed in the shape of a hemisphere. It enclosed only the Lord of Desolate Fortress and the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

She had created this scene from Jeong Yeon-shin's words alone. It seemed beyond the mortal realm.

Every movement of her power was mysterious. It did not seem like a human art.

“Desolate...?!”

It all happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the shocked Pure Demon Alliance Leader had fully turned around, the Lord of Desolate Fortress was already swinging her sword.

The light flowing along the blade was brilliant. A sword strike that seemed to blend moonlight into sunlight flashed.

Slash!

Blood sprayed in a long line from the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's abdomen. Her inner-energy armor, which had flickered black for an instant, tore apart.

She had not formed it firmly enough to withstand the Lord of Desolate Fortress's ambush.

Even so, the sight did not feel real.

At least, not to Jeong Yeon-shin. The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's demonic qi had felt that profound.

Boom!

The thunderous roar within the aura barrier was deafening. The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's figure, suddenly covered in blood, blurred amid a vortex of aura.

Her use of the Body Movement Scripture was too fast to catch at a glance. Even after taking a hit, the power she released was astonishing.

Still, Jeong Yeon-shin knew by instinct. Even while maintaining the aura barrier, the Lord of Desolate Fortress was overwhelming the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's timing had been poor.

Even if they had faced each other openly, the Lord of Desolate Fortress would have held the advantage.

Yet in a dense forest, an elven supreme master had caught her from behind.

She had begun a life-and-death duel after suffering the first blow. It was no different from falling behind by more than two moves.

Step.

It was clear from the Lord of Desolate Fortress's measured steps alone. She no longer held her sword lowered.

Her sleeves fluttered like blades of grass. The sword she struck forth with her pale hand spread like a dim moon halo.

It was something beyond even a swift sword. Sword strikes layered to an unfathomable degree seemed ready to carve apart the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's entire body.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The endlessly unfolding sword forms resembled a scene from nature. It was as though wind that eroded cliffs had been accelerated without end.

Yet the Pure Demon Alliance Leader was also a supreme master. She constantly unleashed black force waves from her limbs to block the sword strikes.

Her Hand Arts and Leg Arts scattered like the fluttering of moth wings.

Striking aside with her hands and feet, she blocked a great many sword paths. She created afterimages too quick for the eye to follow.

It meant that the speed of her movements had completely surpassed that of any Black Uniform of Desolate Fortress.

It was like a battle between monstrous beings wielding supernatural powers.

‘To obtain the World Tree fruit, I need to be able to kill someone like that...’

Jeong Yeon-shin thought. That was why he had unconsciously felt relieved at the Lord of Desolate Fortress's arrival.

At that moment, the Lord of Desolate Fortress's leg stretched forward in a long stride.

Boom!

It was a lightly placed True Step, yet it caused a tremor like an earthquake.

The sword light forming a halo in the Lord of Desolate Fortress's hand dimmed. It was not that the sword force had weakened.

Rather, it had become so powerful that far fewer sword strikes could be seen.

The Lord extended her sword again. From close to her body, she swept it outward in a horizontal arc. The air suddenly boomed.

A sword form like a condensed typhoon spread softly outward.

Krrrraack!

The air itself seemed to tear apart. The aura barrier scattered like mist from the force of the Lord of Desolate Fortress's own sword strike.

Ordinary sword forms were likely insufficient to kill one of the Thirteen Heavens.

Hup!

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's shout rang out. At the same time, black inner-energy armor covered her entire body. Ominous, chilling aura rose from it.

Materializing qi was a rare discipline, yet the two supreme masters employed such profound methods as casually as common third-rate sword arts.

Boom!

The ground shook once more. This time, the Pure Demon Alliance Leader stomped her foot.

Jeong Yeon-shin roughly steadied Hyeon Won-chang's swaying shoulder beside him without taking his eyes off the scene.

As he stared straight ahead, he saw the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's figure shoot upward explosively.

‘With one True Step... how many times did she compress the qi in her Yongquan acupoint?’

Her figure stopped in midair. It was the Body Movement Scripture that employed Walking Upon Empty Space.

“Lord of Desolate Fortress!”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader shouted.

The ends of her ebony hair had been cut away in uneven clumps.

Blood streamed down her forehead above the vivid blue eyes characteristic of those from the Western Regions, giving her a yaksha-like appearance.

With black demonic qi pouring from all over her body, she no longer looked human.

Her blood-smeared upper body made that clear. Her bearing was extraordinary.

“You must have been desperate! Isn't that truly petty?”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader scowled like a demon as she wiped the blood from between her brows with the back of her hand.

Even while standing in the air, one of her legs was slightly bent. Though she was a supreme master, both her words and the way she provoked her opponent revealed her temperament.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader continued.

“I never thought you'd swing your sword at me the moment you appeared. Aren't you ashamed? Even after reaching that realm, you have no interest in a contest of martial arts. I know strange rumors have been spreading in Xiangyang of late. That you took someone without imperial blood as your disciple.”

The corners of her lips curled up. She gave a small nod toward Jeong Yeon-shin below.

“Was your young lover so precious to you? Lord of Desolate Fortress, lackey of the Ming imperial court.”

Standing in the air and running her mouth, she seemed like a monster straight from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

She looked cheerful at first glance, but she was far from heroic. Despite being the head of a faction, she habitually made frivolous provocations.

It was the behavior of a demonic practitioner who cared only for defeating and breaking her opponent.

That was clear from the way her gaze swept over the Lord of Desolate Fortress from head to toe, as though searching for an opening.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress did not answer.

She only lowered her gaze calmly.

Without bothering to look up, she opened her eyes slightly. Each long eyelash cast a shadow over her jade-green eyes.

It was a truly mysterious sight. It was the opening stance of an elven master who lived in companionship with the wind and sensed aura as though through touch.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader slowly closed her mouth.

Then...

“A founding master of the demonic path speaks of pettiness. Is this a Peking opera?”

The boy in a black long robe muttered. Qi carried in his soliloquy spread like a gentle breeze.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader slowly turned her head toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

Her aura sense should still have been trained on the Lord of Desolate Fortress, yet her gaze alone felt as though a mountain had crashed down upon him. It was immensely heavy.

“Boy. What did you say?”

Her rough, hoarse voice demanded an answer. The boy obediently opened his mouth.

“I said your words and actions are like those of a back-alley thug.”

“...”

“No, even street thugs do not bring up things that have no place in a real fight. It is remarkable that you can talk about lovers without shame. If you hand over the mnemonic formula of the demonic art you cultivate, I might be able to set you right. It seems your power has invaded your Baihui acupoint.”

Jeong Yeon-shin lightly tapped his temple with his long index finger.

He knew the value of speaking plainly.

His travels through the martial world had taught him that well.

There was no need to provoke someone deliberately.

The pride of the many masters who had cultivated martial arts was as high as the heavens. Simply stating facts without reserve could easily seize control of a life-and-death duel's flow.

A narrowed field of vision brought on by rage was deadly in the world of masters.

A moment's reaction could create a difference of one move.

‘This isn't the time to be picky.’

The boy thought as much. The Lord of Desolate Fortress had formed an aura barrier the moment she heard Jeong Yeon-shin's sound transmission. She must have guessed Ma Yeon-jeok's condition.

She was entering a life-and-death duel with one of the Thirteen Heavens while carrying that burden. It would not be an easy fight.

Even though she had landed the first strike, her opponent was also a supreme master. There was no martial artist besides the Lord of Desolate Fortress who could be said to stand a chance.

It was difficult all the same, so Jeong Yeon-shin intended to lessen his master's burden by any means possible.

‘The Pure Demon Alliance Leader wouldn't have come alone.’

He pictured her racing ahead of her subordinates because she could not control her temperament.

This was a battle that needed to end quickly.

The motionless leaves settled quietly around the Lord of Desolate Fortress caught his eye. Their stillness reminded him of the calm before a storm.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader, who gazed down at Jeong Yeon-shin, also seemed to be circulating some mnemonic formula.

This lull was only a chance to catch her breath and regain her composure.

Ma Yeon-jeok was in danger. It had become clear that maintaining an aura barrier was difficult while fighting a supreme master.

His master, the Lord of Desolate Fortress, seemed to be honing a sword form for a swift conclusion.

Then it would be enough to draw away even a little of the enemy's attention. If he saw an opening, he intended to send forth even a flying sword.

Whoosh!

A whirlwind swept around Jeong Yeon-shin's feet. Dust scattered from the surroundings spun along with the halo's movement.

Pale white currents of air rose with it. Auspicious dharma power aura began filling the area.

The boy opened his lips again.

“I have some interest in demonic arts. I know the Baihui acupoint fairly well too. Alliance Leader, in my view, you...”

“Young hero, that is enough...”

With their positions reversed, Hyeon Won-chang tried to stop him. The hand resting on Jeong Yeon-shin's shoulder trembled slightly. The boy shook his arm once and brushed it off. What was it? Why?

Then it happened.

“Heh.”

A tiny sound escaped her. The faintest chuckle rang out with unusual clarity. Jeong Yeon-shin's gaze shifted.

It was none other than the Lord of Desolate Fortress. The woman who had remained still despite the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's outrageous words slightly raised her head.

“I will impart the second teaching.”

Her brilliant voice flowed out. A small smile touched her lips.

“The sword of the heart.”

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried