WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 143: Black Uniform

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A short while later, the aura barrier surrounding Ma Yeon-jeok's carriage vanished.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress stepped out with an unreadable expression before entering the Elder Council Head's carriage.

Two of Desolate Fortress's three Purple Uniform peerless masters were traveling while bedridden. It was a matter of grave importance to the fortress.

As the faction's leader, she was checking on the condition of its disciples.

"The burden on the Lord of Desolate Fortress must be immense."

"That's not for us to presume to understand."

They were witnessing the affairs of the main fortress's highest echelon up close.

Even for Jeong Yeon-shin's seniors, it seemed to be an uncommon sight.

Whenever the Lord of Desolate Fortress appeared, they fell silent as though frozen. The moment she boarded the Elder Council Head's four-horse carriage, they all began speaking again.

"Those two should focus on recovering now."

"That's right. I can't even guess what portion of the main fortress's strength has been lost."

"Imagine two sect leaders from the Nine Sects washing their hands in a golden basin. No, even that's hard to imagine."

They were speaking of Ma Yeon-jeok and the Elder Council Head.

Washing one's hands in a golden basin referred to a martial artist's retirement from the martial world.

Jeong Yeon-shin looked over the seniors scattered around him.

Some fifteen Blue Uniform masters wore grave expressions as they discussed the main fortress's future. Their tones were far from cheerful.

Purple Uniform.

It was a color that symbolized Desolate Fortress. It also restrained the martial world's ruffians from running wild.

"How much will those jackals stir things up?"

"There must be more than one local sect ready to openly provoke the main fortress."

"I heard news from the Xinjiang branch has already stopped. They say a descendant of the Ming Cult who cultivated sorcery arts is that strong. In the sorcery world, they call them a talent without equal in all ages."

"What are we going to do about the Martial Alliance Gathering? It isn't even led by the Nine Sects, but by the great families. It'll be rotten before it even opens."

"There are masters from the Jeomchang Sect right there..."

Hyeon Won-chang spoke cautiously. This was not the place to discuss such important matters concerning the main fortress.

The three Jeomchang Sect masters who had been gathered together raised their heads one by one.

The Little Sword Empress smiled at Jeong Yeon-shin. It was a somewhat vacant smile.

Perhaps because she had seen him remain unmoved by the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's aura.

The Jeomchang Sect's greatest swordsman of the younger generation no longer hid her fondness for Seom-ye of Desolate Fortress.

The Little Sword Empress parted her lips.

"Our lips are truly sealed. We're not particularly close to the great families, either. The person I want to befriend is you, Young Hero Jeong, the one who looks so splendid in black robes."

The boy ignored her.

He knew thoughtful people like Weiji Myo-hwa of Zhongnan and Yu Hyeon of Mount Hua.

The Little Sword Empress did not seem ill-natured, but neither did she seem like someone worth deliberately spending his already limited time to befriend.

"We arrived safely in Xiangyang, so it's all right."

O Wol-hyang, a middle-aged Blue Uniform master, shook her head as she spoke.

A faint smile rested on the lips of the woman who regarded Jeong Yeon-shin and Hyeon Won-chang as though they were her sons.

As Ma Jin did, she ran one hand over the empty sleeve where she had lost her left arm at the City of Master Craftsmen.

"The matter of the two Purple Uniform masters is already difficult to hide. How many martial artists from the Blood Flame Sect, the Ten Perfect Sect, and the Tang Sect are there? And how many attendants do they have? Our Seom-ye brought the Jeomchang martial artists along to delay the spread of rumors. To ensure everyone returned safely. Isn't that right?"

She asked with a gentle smile.

Her slight tilt of the chin was directed at Jeong Yeon-shin.

Leaning against a tree as the Lord of Desolate Fortress had, the boy silently nodded. O Wol-hyang's smile deepened.

"You handled yourself admirably as acting Squad Leader. We should be grateful. Thank you for guiding us safely until we reached Xiangyang and until the Lord of Desolate Fortress arrived. You did wonderfully."

"..."

"Once you officially become Black Uniform, it will be difficult to speak so casually. That's why I'm thanking you now."

Her words were filled with warmth.

The seniors nearby nodded.

Soon, embarrassingly lavish praise followed.

They said the potential of the new Black Uniform the main fortress would receive was extraordinary, that they had watched him closely since he first joined Demon Wings, and that he had been rather frightening when he provoked the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

"I'm looking forward to the Black Uniform promotion. It's a very rare, major event in the main fortress."

Cheong Myeong, with their headscarf loosened, sat carelessly on a tree branch.

Reclining among the sunlit leaves, Cheong Myeong looked little like someone injured.

The elven race swordsman who had guided the boy during his White Uniform days wore their usual brilliant smile.

It was Cheong Myeong's way of expressing quiet pleasure.

Even among the main fortress's martial artists, bonds of favor and enmity were forged.

This was a moment to acknowledge a favor and feel the desire to repay it.

The Desolate Fortress masters, who had once seemed impossibly distant when he was the third young master of Jeong Family Manor, were now holding the boy above themselves.

That was how it felt, even if it could not be seen.

It was separate from the martial artists of Seom-ye's Lineage, whose future remained uncertain.

The seniors of Demon Wings had begun preparing themselves to accept a change in the Leader of Demon Wings.

It was the most important matter.

"This atmosphere is embarrassing."

The Languid Flame Dragon muttered as he glanced at the expressionless acting Squad Leader, still so young.

For a moment, Jeong Yeon-shin sensed envy in his voice, but did not ask about it. He knew the same feeling himself.

At times, the boy imagined it.

Himself living out the life Heaven had granted him, then dying alone, with no one around to grieve for him.

Jeong Yeon-shin suppressed the familiar feeling and looked around.

The scene he had truly created came into view.

A broad clearing in the forest before Xiangyang.

Main fortress masters stood on high branches with their arms folded, or sat at ease wherever they found a place.

"..."

The silence that followed was not awkward.

Brilliant summer sunlight filled the leaves around them with bright green.

A breeze swept around them like a master painter's landscape, gathering and passing over masters who were neither martial wanderers nor government soldiers.

The promotion of a new Black Uniform Squad Leader had already taken place before their return, more swiftly than anything else and without anyone in the main fortress knowing.

* * *

They arrived at Nanzhang, situated at the entrance to Xiangyang.

It was a lively city that its elven race county magistrate and Prefect had made prosperous.

Well-maintained ocher roads stretched in every direction, while the clamor of hawkers and merchants echoed along the walls of fairly neat buildings.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress was accompanying them.

Since the officials there were known for their integrity, the government lodgings were small.

This became more apparent the closer they came to Desolate Fortress's main fortress, so Jeong Yeon-shin called on Red Noon Sword of the Returning Wings Squad.

This martial artist represented Seom-ye's Lineage. The middle-aged Blue Uniform master of Desolate Fortress was adept at handling such matters.

Dragon Flower Inn.

Red Noon Sword rented an entire five-story pavilion, the sort of place one might find on the estate of a local magnate. It was to accommodate the elderly Purple Uniform masters and the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

They would arrive at the main fortress tomorrow.

The injured of Demon Wings and the Returning Wings Squad also lay down on comfortable beds for the first time in a while.

"They say martial artists descended from the heavens. Heavenly maidens and divine generals are staying here."

The outside was noisy. At least several dozen people had gathered by the entrance.

"I heard them mention Desolate Fortress. Someone said they saw the character Hwang."

"Isn't that the same story?"

They were a party that drew attention even ordinarily, beginning with the Little Sword Empress, who was desperate to speak with the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

Aside from her reputation as someone capable of discussing sword arts with the Sword Dragon of the Zhongnan Sect, she possessed exceptional beauty.

The same was true of Jeong Yeon-shin, the Languid Flame Dragon, Namgung Hwa-shin, and even Hyeon Won-chang.

They had a dignified bearing. People's eyes were drawn to them.

It would have been even more so if Cheong Myeong had not returned to the carriage.

"Has a fairy descended to earth?"

"Watch your tongue. It is the manifestation of the Jade Emperor."

"The Guardian has emerged. I mean the Lord of Desolate Fortress."

Peerless beauty drew attention just as much as the ultimate moves of superior martial arts.

Combined with status and power unmatched under Heaven, it became a rare spectacle. People simply did not dare make a greater commotion.

During that time, Jeong Yeon-shin stood facing the Lord of Desolate Fortress.

They were in an open space between the inn's main building and an annex.

"You may relax your body and mind. Think of it as lifting your mind and body from this troubled world for a while."

The Lord of Desolate Fortress's clear voice came like a gentle breeze, seeming to softly wrap around the boy's sharpened senses.

He had been using the aura sense of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel to examine the people gathered before the inn.

Her words eased some of Jeong Yeon-shin's vigilance.

'There doesn't seem to be anyone suspicious.'

Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

Caution had become ingrained in him. It had naturally been honed during his trip to Sichuan, where he encountered an especially large number of supreme masters.

He was always like a drawn sword.

"It will not be easy for you to relax."

The Lord of Desolate Fortress, who had been quietly watching him, slightly shook her head.

Her long green hair swayed along her beautiful jawline.

"It is difficult. Such is your temperament."

"My apologies."

"It is all right."

The corners of her lips rose slightly.

"It is because your goal lies far away. Your temperament should naturally become gentler as you grow stronger, so today's teaching may help you, if only a little."

When he faced the Lord of Desolate Fortress alone, there were strangely moments when his mind went blank.

It was the same now.

Her dark green eyes, which seemed to strip his entire body bare, were overwhelming.

She was a peerless master said to see through people's inner selves. Beyond her level of martial arts, she seemed to carry a certain transcendence throughout her body as the supreme being of her clan.

Jeong Yeon-shin turned the light wheel in his heart.

The wheel of light rotated within his body, setting his inner energy circulating through his entire body.

The dharma power of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel seeped into his heart and head. The boy barely managed to focus his eyes.

After finding calm with two inhalations while facing the Lord of Desolate Fortress, he saw that the corners of her lips had lifted just a little higher.

'I couldn't have looked too pathetic.'

Jeong Yeon-shin was worrying needlessly when the Lord of Desolate Fortress spoke.

"You polished your vessel at Jeong Family Manor, and in Sichuan, you breathed through a Divine Technique. You have begun filling that vessel with water."

"The advice you gave me was of great help."

The boy recalled the note the Grand Chief Steward had given him just before he left on the mission.

The Lord of Desolate Fortress's handwriting remained vivid in his mind.

She gave a small laugh.

"Now you must learn to control that breath. Are you prepared to accept a new sword art?"

"Will you teach me the Heart Sword?"

Jeong Yeon-shin answered her question with one of his own.

After a brief silence, she parted her lips.

"I know what you were thinking. You thought of Mind Is Killing."

It was an absolute art that raised a sword with one's mind and cut down the opponent. It was a legendary realm known only through rumors.

"Then..."

"What I wish to teach you is different. It is more accurate to call it a sword art that toys with the senses. It is not an art that cuts the mind. I created it recently, so you will be its first inheritor."

"To toy with the senses..."

Jeong Yeon-shin repeated quietly.

Her jade-like green eyes watched the boy intently. The Lord of Desolate Fortress's expression showed little change, as always.

It was as though she were asking whether he was disappointed. Yet Jeong Yeon-shin was not.

He had seen the strike that shattered the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's Walking Upon Empty Space. It was a peerless sword move.

"What is its secret? I felt nothing at that time."

The boy asked boldly. The Lord of Desolate Fortress slowly nodded.

"It is a feint. A method of imprinting a sword strike upon the image within your enemy's mind. With tremendous intensity."

"How?"

"You need only act as the absolute master of your aura and sword wind."

It was the Lord of Desolate Fortress's teaching. She did not leave it at words that were difficult to understand.

"Come here."

Her lips moved.

They were already only two steps apart. The boy hesitated for a moment.

Step.

A pale green cloth shoe on the Lord of Desolate Fortress's foot brushed the ground.

A peerless master spoken of as the greatest under Heaven in the vast martial world approached him.

Her second lesson had begun.

Footnotes:

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