WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Chapter 16: Growth (2)

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Several days passed as Yeon-shin devoted himself to training.

Cheong Myeong occasionally gave Yeon-shin strange looks, but Cheong Myeong was so free-spirited and detached from worldly concerns that Yeon-shin let it pass.

The movement technique of the elven race that Yeon-shin was steadily mastering was too captivating for him to spare his attention elsewhere.

Lightness arts were the art of running. They could not help but be influenced by mastery of a movement technique that allowed one to move lightly.

It did not take long for the inspiration Yeon-shin gained from Cheong Myeong's movements to take shape as mnemonic verses.

For now, it was only a framework for qi circulation, leaving ample room for improvement. Still, the founder of a martial lineage could not help but understand the essence of that martial art.

"A practitioner who learns and masters a martial art and a Grandmaster who creates and masters one. Even if both have completed the first tenth of it, their attainments cannot possibly be the same," Baek Mir-yeo said.

While tracking the Blood Flame Sect cultist's traces and guarding against another intrusion, the Demon Wings group could feel Yeon-shin's movements changing by the day.

Unlike Yeon-shin, who did not care who watched, they did not go out of their way to observe his training.

They merely inferred his attainment from the changes in bearing that naturally came with learning martial arts of a high level.

"Grandmaster potential. I cannot deny it, but I still cannot believe it even while watching. Our captain chose to focus on the Body Movement Scripture instead."

After seeing Yeon-shin beneath the net bed, Cheong Myeong had begun sleeping inside the government office.

A month had passed since their encounter with the Blood Flame Sect cultist.

They had accomplished nothing. It was not as though they had failed to see the man again.

The village's cattle, horses, pigs, and chickens continued to die off little by little.

It became painfully clear that the Blood Flame Sect cultist's purpose was not to slaughter the village livestock, but to cut away at the villagers' nerves.

Yet the cultist never came to the fields. That was why Cheong Myeong remained watchful.

Cheong Myeong did not care how many animals died and was content merely to serve as a threatening scarecrow.

That led to disputes as well.

Whenever Baek Mir-yeo planned the tracking and patrol routes, Cheong Myeong would climb onto the net bed, saying sunlight was needed.

Baek Mir-yeo, left to vent alone, alternated between taking Hyeon Won-chang and Yeon-shin along.

"That bastard does not seem to be alone after all. They know our patrol routes inside out. This time, a horse died."

The problem was that the county magistrate here disliked the smell, so the government office's stable was far away.

The value of a single horse was no small matter. At least in Jinpyeong County, it would be worth more than any other resource.

Hyeon Won-chang, who had approached at some point, looked up at the net bed.

Hyeon Won-chang wore a displeased expression. Having received instruction in the fundamentals of martial arts, Hyeon Won-chang had gradually grown more at ease around Cheong Myeong.

"Why are you so calm? Are you truly of the elven race? A horse died."

"Yesterday, it was a pig," Yeon-shin said while passing by.

"We of the elven race are friends of the forest, not friends of horses and pigs."

"Unless you die," Cheong Myeong added.

"Then I will somehow wipe out that bastard's three generations."

Yeon-shin snickered and headed toward the washing area.

It was said that members of the elven race raised in Desolate Fortress, like Cheong Myeong, were generally that free-spirited, and their blades did not weigh heavily on them.

They were unlike the immortals people commonly imagined.

As a warrior of Desolate Fortress, Yeon-shin was learning more about the world with each passing day.

After washing, Yeon-shin found dinner prepared. The plump county magistrate rubbed their palms together and watched the others' reactions.

Yeon-shin thought the county magistrate had the look of someone who would become a sycophant upon rising to the imperial capital, but he also understood. For a month, the county magistrate had watched martial artists race over the fields as though flying.

"E-Eat."

The county magistrate smiled awkwardly. After avoiding them for some time, the county magistrate seemed to have reached some sort of decision.

Uninterested, Yeon-shin sat with the Demon Wings group and spoke with them.

They discussed how to change the defensive net, how many accomplices the enemy might have, and whether they should begin searching and subjugating the surrounding mountains despite their vastness.

Over the past month, Yeon-shin had come to realize that there were many kinds of battles in the world, and that the short, decisive engagements most masters preferred were not easily achieved in reality.

After the meal, Yeon-shin spent some time training before retiring to his familiar sleeping place.

The call of a scops owl, like the brief sound of a bamboo flute, filled the peaceful night of his first venture into the martial world.

* * *

The next day, Yeon-shin set out alone. Permission from Baek Mir-yeo and Cheong Myeong came easily.

They held the martial ability of the enemy accomplices, who would not come down for fear of the Desolate Fortress experts, in low regard.

The two experts rated Yeon-shin's chances very highly in a direct confrontation with the Blood Flame Sect cultist.

A man who was only fast on his feet would have difficulty defeating the current Seom-ye.

'Strange.'

To someone from Jeong Family Manor, Desolate Fortress was no different from the realm of immortals.

At times, being fully acknowledged by the Blue Uniform warriors felt quite strange.

'It is not bad, though.'

Whether it was because of his rapidly improving movement technique or simply his mood, each step felt lighter while climbing the mountain.

Unlike Cheong Myeong, Yeon-shin could not afford to be leisurely.

Until yesterday, Yeon-shin had focused on training to improve his movement technique, but he could not continue doing so forever.

Feeling stifled, Yeon-shin decided to look over the entire county from the mountain peak.

Thinking to train his movement technique along the way, Yeon-shin roamed mountain paths the group had not searched.

Only when the sun hung over the western mountains did Yeon-shin discover a strange hut built before a cave.

It resembled a door or passageway. The group's month of effort had finally borne fruit.

'So the smoke was escaping through another passage. They could not have been living only on fasting pills, so it made no sense that we could not find them. This was why.'

Yeon-shin turned away without dwelling on it.

If unavoidable circumstances arose, he would not hesitate to risk his life.

But when there was room to act cautiously, he had no intention of deliberately creating an unforeseen factor.

He had entered Desolate Fortress to survive and seek the World Tree's fruit.

If he died meaninglessly, neither the fruit nor anything else would matter.

With a fitting mixture of tension and excitement, Yeon-shin trod down the earthen path before deciding to reverse course.

"Who are you?"

A red-haired man was coming up with his teeth sunk into the neck of a dead young boy.

Despite the unfamiliar face and shabby clothes, the man's hair was unmistakably red as blood.

Blood Flame Sect.

It was just as Yeon-shin had heard. There were even those who stole the vitality of children to increase their martial strength.

Although the Empire had designated them a heretical sect, their power had not diminished.

It was said that the Blood Arts of the Blood Flame Sect were cultivated through all manner of methods. Even Desolate Fortress experts shuddered in revulsion at them.

Facing the reality behind the rumors, Yeon-shin studied the man's build, posture, and aura.

'An accomplice. The Blood Flame Sect bastard who had been backing up the other one.'

Yeon-shin slowly moved a hand toward the sword hilt.

"A sword-carrying brat. A razor-sharp bearing. The character for Hwang stitched into a White Uniform..."

The man muttered while looking Yeon-shin over, then curled the corners of his mouth upward.

"Just as I heard. Thanks to one Desolate Fortress brat, I will earn merit. I am not like the brother who fled from the likes of you. Curse your bad luck...!"

Slash!

The instant pure white radiance flashed, the man's head flew off.

The child fell limply from the man's hand. The headless body remained standing for a moment before collapsing behind the young boy.

Yeon-shin, already standing beside the man, swung the sword once to shake off the blood.

"Let us end this now."

Yeon-shin muttered.

To speak of bad luck over something like this?

It was impossible to know how many more there were.

But if they could not even react to Yeon-shin's sword speed, what did it matter how many there were?

Even if this was the first mission involving the Blood Flame Sect among the Thirteen Heavens, it did not seem like a task that should consume a whole month.

These people could not be left alive any longer.

Using Ultimate Realm, Yeon-shin dug a hole.

After closing the child's eyes, he buried the body. He did not pile much soil on top.

The child seemed to be a victim from outside Jinpyeong County, but once the matter was settled, Yeon-shin intended to demand that the county magistrate find the parents.

Holding the sword, Yeon-shin turned toward the hut.

As he moved with qi circulating, a cool wind began to wind around his feet.

Each step gradually began to rise.

The undergrowth beneath Yeon-shin's feet slowly raised its head, as though it did not bear his weight.

With the elven race's steps, Yeon-shin's presence naturally faded as well, until he reached the hut.

Thud!

It was different when Yeon-shin used True Step. The peacefully standing grass was trampled all at once.

The swift-sword form of Demon's Light carried tremendous force, and the Desolate Sword became a bolt of pure white lightning, tearing apart the entire hut along with the Blood Flame Sect cultists within.

Shraaak!

"Aaagh!"

"W-What?!"

Amid the scattering dust and splintered wood, one man whose body had been cut in half gasped out empty breaths, while another behind him stared in horror.

Each of them held a corpse.

Jinpyeong County was not the only problem.

'Ultimate Realm.'

Yeon-shin had no intention of speaking.

Qi strengthened by elixir pills overlapped and grew in power. The strength racing through every fine meridian sharpened movements as light as blades of grass.

Crush! Crack!

The hand holding the Desolate Sword, smashing, striking, and then cutting, produced enough sword power for slaughter.

The vibrations of the sword running up to his elbow reflected Yeon-shin's heart, which could no longer hide its anger.

Amid the spurting blood, images of Jeong Family Manor formed.

"You worship the strong devouring the weak? Fine."

The cultists fell, becoming no different from the corpses they had toyed with.

Beyond the hut, torn open at the rear, lay the inside of a cave with torches hanging here and there.

This could practically be called a Blood Flame Sect branch.

The single Blood Flame Sect cultist encountered in Jinpyeong County had truly been nothing.

'Can I handle this alone?'

Before entering, Yeon-shin calculated the odds.

Boiling blood and survival were separate matters.

Was it because Yeon-shin had made such a loud disturbance at the entrance?

As if the enemy had already noticed him, an aura extended from deep inside the cave.

Waves of qi rippled through the air, sinister and powerful.

[Kill!]

An angry roar pounded against Yeon-shin's heart. At the same time, footsteps echoed from every direction.

'Two, three... five.'

Five lackeys and one person who seemed to be the branch leader.

Yeon-shin had heard that Blood Flame Sect branch leaders were genuine experts called Blood Masters.

A Blood Master meant a sword that taught and guided.

Yet there was no time to judge whether Yeon-shin could face that opponent. The cultists rushed in.

"You dare come this far!"

"Pay in blood!"

Among the five red heads was the cultist from Jinpyeong County.

The cultist's expression briefly showed surprise, then the cultist gripped a sword and charged as though pleased.

The presence of companions on either side seemed to have bolstered the cultist's momentum.

Yeon-shin did not retreat and took another step forward.

Boom!

True Step gouged the stone floor, its resonance drowning out the cultists' footsteps.

Without caring about the cultists flinching as they charged forward full of killing intent, Yeon-shin loaded the Desolate Sword with Charged Strike.

As he turned, the wind of the elven race wrapped around his spinning body.

The first person Yeon-shin had killed at Jeong Family Manor had been a Blood Flame Sect cultist, but the sword strike he unleashed now stood on an entirely different level.

Shraak!

Amid the torch flames dancing from the force of Charged Strike, a long silver trail was drawn.

Three bodies were cut apart along a single sword path. A sensation traveled through the blade.

The Blood Flame Sect cultists fell with the same expressions they had worn while charging, as though they had never even perceived the strike.

The horror belonged to the surviving two.

The Jinpyeong County cultist hurriedly employed footwork, but Yeon-shin had already become a leaf riding a storm and was bringing down the second strike of Charged Strike.

Crush!

The sound of the sword chewing into the cultist's body brought the revenge to an end.

"What is this...!"

The final cultist stepped backward, then fell with the chest cut open without perceiving the following swift strike.

After flicking the blood from the sword, Yeon-shin stared into the depths of the darkness.

What repercussions would arise if a Desolate Fortress White Uniform, on his first foray, killed a Blood Master?

Yeon-shin was not curious about that right now.

Step.

With each slow step, sword resonance rang out clearly.

The Desolate Sword hummed, wishing martial fortune upon its sole companion.

Footnotes:

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