WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 160: Leader of Demon Wings (3)
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‘A human hand? The Leader of Demon Wings?’
Profound Heaven Squad Leader Jegal Cheon’s brows rose.
Several deep wrinkles suddenly appeared across his forehead, betraying his shock. He stared ahead with a stiff expression.
Swish.
A hand had pierced the curtain. Five smooth yet firm fingers formed a hand blade.
It had not merely pierced a sheet of silk.
Hum.
The Go stones scattered nearby trembled slightly.
More than ten black and white stones had been used to activate the formation. The formation laid out when the Martial Alliance Assembly was established was collapsing.
The Heavy Wind Creeping Wall Formation, activated with only a few Go stones, was in truth an ultimate art that had required far more effort than appearances suggested.
Sorcery power had been imbued into every material. It had been arranged according to geomancy and the study of the Book of Changes.
The ridgepole, beams, eaves, foundation stones, rafters, and even the other pillars.
It was not supposed to be broken down like that.
“What...!”
Sorcery arts were skills that could not be defined in a few words. Unlike martial arts, they followed no fixed pattern of mnemonic formulas.
Their branches divided into countless paths, but they shared one thing in common. They were studies that toyed with the principles of all creation.
Unless one had cultivated the sorcery-based martial arts of the Demonic Sect, sorcery arts were difficult for a martial artist to approach.
That was even more true for orthodox martial artists who had cultivated deep, steadfast inner energy.
‘How could...?’
To pierce it with a single strike meant stepping into the realm of miracles.
It made no sense unless one had mastered an exceptionally rare and outstanding martial art.
Just like the two Grandmasters who had left immortal marks upon the martial world.
Zhang Sanfeng, who had mastered the root of Daoist sorcery arts known as the Eight Divine Mantras.
Bodhidharma, the Buddhist Grandmaster who had infused the Buddha’s dharma power into martial arts.
Hum!
A divine ripple spread from the straight hand blade. An aura invisibly enveloped the office.
Jegal Cheon, the Wind-Water Mystic Master who had cultivated both martial arts and sorcery arts, sensed it at once.
The Heavy Wind Creeping Wall Formation was vanishing as though it had never existed. The wealth and accumulated effort poured into the office were disappearing in an instant.
‘As expected, that isn’t ordinary qi drawn in through breathing. Daoist power? No, is Buddhist power mixed into it...?!’
It happened in an instant.
The wave of power felt immensely clear. Could there be any inner energy under heaven as pure as this?
An installation that had cost great time and money had been neutralized without any warning.
It might have been much easier to resist if they had clashed through martial arts instead.
“Could it truly be...?”
The doubtful words slipped out like a groan. An answer came at once.
“You told me to enter, so I stepped inside.”
With a single gesture, the curtain that had formed the boundary of the sorcery formation was swept aside.
The green silk fluttered down, revealing a boy dressed in a pitch-black long robe.
The boy still wore the black leather shoes that had been visible beneath the curtain earlier.
With a shake of the hand, the green silk curtain fell away. The boy stepped inside lightly, and an unusual dignity radiated from the entire body.
“I suppose I haven’t committed a breach of etiquette just by clearing away an obstruction.”
The boy spoke with an indifferent expression that did not suit that age. Or perhaps it did.
The boy’s status and martial arts had reached a level worthy of discussion throughout the world, making every action seem significant. It was difficult to guess the boy’s state of mind.
‘That is certainly Desolate Fortress’s Black Uniform.’
Jegal Cheon thought. Regardless of age, the boy possessed skill worthy of that attire.
A monster.
A boy in a black long robe who had torn apart a sorcery formation with one move. The pressure radiating from the boy far surpassed the realm of rising talents.
To many martial artists, the boy had reached a level where one hardly seemed human.
“...Welcome, Squad Leader. I am Jegal Cheon, acting chief strategist of the Martial Alliance.”
Jegal Cheon barely maintained a calm expression.
If Jegal Cheon did not act as though nothing had happened, it felt as if something terrible would occur. Regret was overwhelming.
It had been necessary to probe the boy’s temperament, but Jegal Cheon had not expected martial arts capable of breaking down sorcery power.
Jegal Cheon had planned to provoke the boy slightly, then release the formation as though nothing had happened.
The young Squad Leader before Jegal Cheon had not let it pass.
“Is this how your assembly treats an envoy?”
“...I do not understand what you mean. You appear to still be weary from your long journey, so I believe it would be best to arrange another meeting on an auspicious day. We shall provide fine accommodations. How about you rest?”
“I am Jeong Yeon-shin, Leader of Demon Wings. Show me the courtesy due my position.”
Desolate Fortress’s young supreme master gave Jegal Cheon no room for further excuses.
As Jeong Yeon-shin slowly stepped toward the grand preceptor's chair where Jegal Cheon sat, the rustle of robes as dark as the night sky sounded especially clear.
Jeong Yeon-shin had raised protective qi. The boy was fully prepared.
Jegal Cheon had plotted to harm Jeong Yeon-shin’s dignity, and with a single step, the boy made it clear that an attack was not out of the question.
“This was not done at one person’s discretion, was it? This is a meeting to receive an envoy.”
The boy in black spoke.
“Apologize to me on behalf of the Martial Alliance Assembly.”
Jeong Yeon-shin did not frame it as Jegal Cheon’s individual action. The matter of the formation had been expanded into one between the Martial Alliance and Desolate Fortress.
The sharp, rapid delivery, like a quick sword, was masterful.
The only Desolate Fortress White Uniform martial artist accompanying the Leader of Demon Wings smacked their lips. Their Squad Leader had truly come down from the mountain.
“...”
Jegal Cheon fell silent for a moment. Jegal Cheon understood why the boy before them had risen to the rank of Squad Leader.
It was because Jeong Yeon-shin was already a person of the martial world, even apart from martial strength.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke well and was decisive. A fierce beast that bit down on an enemy’s throat and refused to let go came to mind.
The Go stones laid out to activate the Heavy Wind Creeping Wall Formation had become a self-defeating move. It was a disastrous mistake. The Alliance’s dignity had been damaged at their first meeting.
Jegal Cheon quietly watched the boy. That expressionless face filled the view.
Jegal Cheon considered the matter as acting chief strategist.
‘What if this humiliating situation cannot be confined to my personal affairs?’
The Wind-Water Mystic Master Jegal Cheon had not become the Profound Heaven Squad Leader through personal martial strength alone.
Jegal Cheon had been valued by the Zhuge Family Head because of skill in handling sorcery formations, broad knowledge, and martial arts that were far from shallow.
Should the martial artists stationed in this hall be summoned? How much manpower and time would it take to defeat that Black Uniform warrior?
Jegal Cheon would not emerge unscathed either. And after gathering people to subdue a single Squad Leader of Desolate Fortress, what then?
Silence everyone involved?
The Alliance was not one unified entity by nature.
An enormous disturbance would arise. Once countless people witnessed it, there would be no stopping the rumors.
Nor did it seem possible to capture Desolate Fortress’s Leader of Demon Wings without causing a commotion. The damage would be immense.
Jegal Cheon could not claim that nothing had happened either. The traces left by the broken formation remained.
That Leader of Demon Wings appeared well versed in sorcery formations. One could tell just from the way Jeong Yeon-shin stood with hands behind the back and examined the surroundings.
Where had Jeong Yeon-shin seen another formation of this caliber?
The records said Jeong Yeon-shin had rendered service during the destruction of the Blood Flame Sect’s main headquarters. It might have been connected to the Blood Flame Sect’s sorcery formation being broken down.
‘This is hopeless.’
Jeong Yeon-shin had broken the Heavy Wind Creeping Wall Formation with a single move. Martial arts that affected sorcery arts and the discernment to examine the nature of a sorcery formation were separate matters.
Someone this resolute would search the office and find the cracked materials.
‘I must abandon a hard-line response. The losses outweigh the gains.’
Jegal Cheon slowly opened his mouth. The hands raised to the chest in a fist-and-palm salute trembled slightly.
“...I have been discourteous to the Leader of Demon Wings. As a member of the White Path Martial Alliance Assembly, I apologize.”
An apology. The words Jegal Cheon had never spoken to anyone as Profound Heaven Squad Leader quietly left the lips.
Jegal Cheon had only ever said such words before the Family Head. Even then, it had been when Jegal Cheon was no more than a component of the Profound Heaven Squad.
The boy’s lips formed a faint curve.
“I will take one thing with me. You cannot claim that nothing happened.”
The young Leader of Demon Wings raised the left arm. The broad sleeve of the long robe fell to the shoulder.
As an arm marked by the clear definition of rigorous training was revealed, storm-like energy gathered in the boy’s palm.
“...!”
Craaaash!
An enormous suction force erupted.
The inhalation mnemonic formula used to circulate qi had surpassed all bounds.
Amid the splintered wood scattering overhead, the entire ceiling of the office was being torn free and brought down.
A hazy cloud of dust spread out. Jegal Cheon’s eyes widened in shock through the dirt obscuring the view.
‘Myriad Flowers Rain...?!’
Thud!
“It is clearly inscribed.”
Jeong Yeon-shin caught a fragment of the shattered beam and let the mnemonic formula subside. Jeong Yeon-shin lowered the piece of wood in the left hand beneath the eyes.
The words “As Commanded by the Law” had been written in bold calligraphy. It was certainly a trace of the formation.
It resembled what Jeong Yeon-shin had felt from the Blood Flame Sect’s Two-Flame Blood Spirit Formation. A numinous power lingered around it.
“This does not seem like ordinary power. Is this the Zhuge Family Head’s handwriting?”
The boy muttered. Ferocity appeared on Jegal Cheon’s face as composure returned.
“...Do not speak carelessly of the Family Head.”
“Hmm?”
“That person is of a higher standing than you, in both seniority and status.”
“I received instruction from the Lord of Desolate Fortress.”
“...”
No martial artist discussed seniority before the elven race. That was even more true of the Lord of Desolate Fortress, said to be the most revered among the clans.
Jegal Cheon’s mouth snapped shut. More than ten Martial Alliance martial artists who had rushed into the office at the sound of the disturbance also fell silent.
Their faces showed that they had grasped at least some of what had happened.
“Mind your conduct.”
Hyeon Won-chang spoke. It was what Jeong Yeon-shin had once said to Languid Flame Dragon. The young Leader of Demon Wings casually tapped Hyeon Won-chang’s shoulder and turned away.
Though the disturbance had been great, only objects had been damaged. Jegal Cheon, the owner of the office, bore no signs of combat.
As the Martial Alliance’s masters hurriedly withdrew, only Jeong Yeon-shin’s voice rang out briefly.
“Let us set a day and meet again. The accommodations must already have been arranged, so I will have a servant guide me there.”
* * *
The relationship between the worldly orthodox sects and Desolate Fortress was not simple. That had been even more true before the Martial Alliance Assembly was formed.
Until then, the White Path martial schools had not openly shown hostility toward Desolate Fortress.
It was the martial faction that most actively protected the people’s livelihood under heaven.
They might curse its methods of using force behind its back, but they could not openly condemn it before the world.
As long as the banner of the orthodox martial world was chivalry and justice, they had to act that way.
Yet they did not grow close to it either.
Desolate Fortress’s conduct had made that impossible. It never considered the circumstances of martial artists.
It did not heed orthodox sects when looking after public sentiment.
It exposed hypocritical actions for what they were and did not hesitate to wield the sword until an entire sect was destroyed.
In name, orthodox martial schools pursued both chivalry and justice. The proper path, the White Path, orthodox lineages, orthodox sects.
They were martial lineages that sought fame under titles carrying the meaning of righteousness.
Yet the Central Plains’ chivalry did not mean the same thing as justice.
They differed greatly.
By the teachings of the Four Books and Five Classics, it was a deeply peculiar belief.
“For example, when a family that committed a crime suffers the calamity of extermination...”
Languid Flame Dragon tapped the table with his large hand. Jeong Yeon-shin and Namgung Hwa-shin sat around it with him.
“If a third party connected to that family dies fighting alongside them at the site of their extermination, they are called a chivalrous warrior. Because they upheld loyalty and conviction until life ran out. That is the practical sentiment of the martial world.”
“I thought I had experienced quite a bit of the martial world.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke. Languid Flame Dragon smiled lazily.
“The world of lofty fighters is, at its core, rough and foolish. That is why they cannot become close with Desolate Fortress, if they wish to preserve their own chivalry.”
Fragrant Rhyme Residence.
It was the accommodation assigned to Jeong Yeon-shin’s group.
True to its name, it possessed extraordinary elegance.
The moment they opened the door, they could see the pavilion built above the outer gate. The entrance gate itself rose two stories.
The miniature mountain in the center of the courtyard was also beautiful. It had been made by carving stone and setting it upon the shore of the garden pond.
They were certainly being treated as honored guests.
Except for one thing. The location of their residence was awkward.
“So you mean someone might pick a fight with us at any moment?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked. Languid Flame Dragon tilted his head toward one shoulder.
“I mean that could happen. Do you not hear voices from every direction? Even the footsteps that never stop sound like thunder. Well, we are occupying a house built in the very center of the assembly, so it is only natural. I heard there are more than a hundred martial schools making up the Alliance... Even though we do not know the assembly’s intentions, does this not feel like a very blatant scheme?”
“I see.”
“Hmm... But why are you smiling? This young master would like to die of old age.”
Footnotes:
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