WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 161: Leader of Demon Wings (4)
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“I am from the Cheongil Sect in Fujian. I have long heard of your reputation. They say you are also called the Dark King Among Flowers. This Hyeon has dared to come today in hopes of opening his eyes. I ask that you broaden my horizons with the Squad Leader’s renowned Divine Technique and ultimate arts.”
A middle-aged man with a refined appearance clasped his hands in greeting. Five disciples stood behind him.
“Out of respect for the Leader of Demon Wings, would you share fellowship with this Hyeon through the sword today?”
His manner and bearing were rather easygoing. His voice was solemn enough that he seemed like the sort of person who could readily earn anyone’s trust.
Was this the presence a refined scholar developed after taking up martial arts later in life?
If he fully understood the power of his appearance, voice, and conduct, he would be a frightening person to face.
‘They said he really was.’
Jeong Yeon-shin quietly watched the Cheongil Sect Master. Hyeon Won-chang had told him about people like this.
The Martial Alliance Assembly had many sociable figures, and quite a few wielded their connections like divine swords.
They might be more dangerous than those with formidable martial arts.
‘I never intended to give him a casual response in the first place.’
Just as the boy thought that,
“That’s all a lie. What respect is there from someone who came without even sending word?”
Languid Flame Dragon spoke with a faint smile. He was reclining against a rock that rose from one side of the Fragrant Rhyme Residence.
The scenery of this residence, assigned to Demon Wings by the Martial Alliance, was fine enough to serve as drinking entertainment for Hyeon Won-chang and Languid Flame Dragon.
Even as more Assembly members began arriving and frowning at the sight, Languid Flame Dragon looked as comfortable as though he had entered his own home.
“Fujian is at the eastern edge. The Squad Leader’s new epithet, Dark King or whatever, arose in Sichuan, yet how would someone from Fujian know an epithet that has only just begun spreading from the far western edge? There are two possibilities. Either the Assembly’s martial artists, who keep quiet about Desolate Fortress, are tremendous gossips behind the scenes, or our Cheongil Sect Master personally looked into our Squad Leader...”
Languid Flame Dragon’s smile deepened.
“Neither is particularly pleasant, is it? Cheongil Sect Master, our temperament differs from the Assembly’s, so it is better to be frank. Go on, say it. You came to test him because you covet our Squad Leader’s reputation and position. Say that the reputation of a child you heard about in some corner of Fujian does not feel quite real to you.”
“...I came to discuss matters with your superior.”
“Since this is the heart of the Martial Alliance, you need not worry about the consequences of harming someone from Desolate Fortress, nor fear being hurt in return. What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you endure even a few moves from the Leader of Demon Wings, it will be something to boast about. If you somehow win, your reputation will soar. Isn’t that right? That is why you came. It is not as though I am asking because you are already the fourth person like this.”
Languid Flame Dragon was completely irritated.
Reclining lazily while chewing opium poppy and speaking like that, he resembled a thunderclap bomb about to explode.
He must have looked like that when he beat Yu Hyeon at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. His presence was so overbearing that the Cheongil Sect side could not point out his rudeness.
Hyeon Won-chang had even seated himself in a distant hall and spread out the Four Treasures of the Study.
“Why don’t you just go inside and sleep?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked. Languid Flame Dragon’s expression changed at once.
“No, that is rather hurtful.”
He sprang upright and rubbed his hands together vigorously. Rather than looking servile, he resembled a back-alley thug hunting for some trouble to join.
“Shouldn’t a subordinate remain here to protect the Squad Leader? Our Squad Leader need not worry. This Languid Flame Dragon is sick to death of the old-fashioned White Path orthodox sects and their honeyed words hiding daggers. This body’s protection does not distinguish between force and politics.”
There was no better example of a boisterous treacherous minister, even with his anger rising to the top of his head.
‘If one more comes, he’ll definitely make a move.’
That was plain to Jeong Yeon-shin.
Languid Flame Dragon liked to savor the atmosphere. That appreciation for atmosphere did not suit someone who habitually kept liquor and opium poppy close at hand.
The boy knew why. Unlike Jeong Yeon-shin, the Huangbo Young Family Head wanted to enjoy what remained of his short life.
Since he was going to die anyway, he meant to take his time feeling his own existence.
That, too, was a good way to live. Jeong Yeon-shin understood it. Nature was a strange thing.
When he closed his eyes to feel the air mingled with bright sunlight, it gently urged him to savor his own inner self instead.
For one living a short life, the closest companion was not blood kin, but the breeze.
That was likely why Languid Flame Dragon seemed unaffected by the Huangbo Family’s destruction.
‘A planned fight would be better. How many surprise visits has this been now?’
The boy, who lived fiercely to flee death, understood Languid Flame Dragon’s opposite approach better than anyone.
That was why it occasionally annoyed him. Whenever he saw that man’s characteristic boredom, he found himself questioning his own life.
If he reached the end after running like this and failed to receive a good ending, he would ultimately envy Languid Flame Dragon, who had enjoyed his life.
‘This time too, I’ll earn merit... and consume it within three years.’
Then he would taunt Languid Flame Dragon. When that time came, he could loosen his conduct a little.
Perhaps he would chew opium poppy beside that man’s grave.
He should make a list of things he wanted to do after surviving death. Fine, this would be the first.
As the boy’s thoughts wandered in every direction, Languid Flame Dragon tilted his head and pressed the Cheongil Sect Master.
“Sect Leader, why are you not speaking?”
“...”
The Qingil Sect Leader did not answer. Had he felt humiliation he had never experienced as the leader of an orthodox sect?
The occasional twitching of the beard beneath his nose supported that suspicion.
“Huangbo Young Family Head! Your words have gone too far!”
The five disciples behind him spoke with angry faces. Their appearance carried the air of the Cheongil Sect.
All five were dressed like scholars and wore swords at their waists.
Auras surged around them despite their neatly groomed beards, as though they might draw their swords at any moment.
Considering Languid Flame Dragon’s conduct, it was a perfectly natural reaction.
“I had heard much about the wastrel of a destroyed family, but this is simply...”
“Do you have no sense of rank or order? Restrain yourself and withdraw! You must apologize to the Leader of Demon Wings!”
“How can such lawlessness occur within the Assembly...”
One person stopped speaking.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly set foot on the ground. A surge of power spread in all directions.
It was calm, yet overwhelming. A martial artist’s conflict was ultimately settled through strength.
The boy spoke to the Cheongil Sect experts.
“You said you wished to share fellowship through the sword. I apologize. I will reveal the true essence of my martial arts.”
“What does that mean...? Are you saying you will teach us the mnemonic formulas of your martial arts?”
One of the Cheongil Sect experts asked. From the distant hall, Hyeon Won-chang, who had taken out a blank book, shook his head.
“He means he will show you due courtesy. He will entertain you even if it means revealing all of his own martial arts. In other words, all of you may attack him together.”
“What did you just say?”
“One person alone experiencing the Leader of Demon Wings’ supreme martial arts? Is that not terribly unfair? He is saying he will prevent discord among you before it begins.”
Hyeon Won-chang was utterly shameless.
His calm appearance as he laid out the Four Treasures of the Study while harboring ulterior motives was reassuring. Jeong Yeon-shin inwardly cheered him on. Good work, my right-hand man.
“What outrageous...!”
“Outrageous? How is it outrageous to fight at full strength in a place that may become hostile territory? You have interpreted his words in exactly the opposite way. Can you not guess what it means for the Leader of Demon Wings from Desolate Fortress to reveal his martial arts in the heart of the martial world?”
“...”
“He is a man who must go about apprehending martial artists at any time. Yet he says he will show you martial arts that should be kept in utmost secrecy.”
It was rather persuasive.
This was not the same as making sophistry sound plausible. Hyeon Won-chang’s words were sound reasoning.
In truth, Desolate Fortress martial artists disliked leaving survivors who had seen their martial arts.
Every corner of the world was filled with enemies.
Simply showing the form of a martial art could give rise to countless counterforms.
No martial artist met a horizontal strike with the same horizontal strike.
The formation of the Martial Alliance was the White Path orthodox sects’ measure to protect themselves.
It had been established under the pretext of the Huangbo Family and Namgung Family incidents, making it a potential enemy of Desolate Fortress.
The primary martial arts of Desolate Fortress’s Black Uniform Squad Leader were a matter of great interest.
If a supreme technique that struck sideways became public, people would prepare sword strikes that cut vertically.
Or they might devise a technique to slip underneath and sever the waist in one stroke.
“Not to mention experiencing Force Projection and aura firsthand. Is there a reason people say to conceal part of one’s strength in the martial world? Our Squad Leader says he will reveal his true martial arts as an apology, so regard it as a good opportunity. No, Squad Leader. Would it not be better to send them back like this? The grand founding ceremony is not far off. There is no need to reveal more martial arts...”
Hyeon Won-chang’s words were enough.
“I gratefully accept the Squad Leader’s instruction.”
The Cheongil Sect Master stepped forward. It did not seem to be of his own will. He looked hurried, as though he had received some command.
As a strange light appeared in Languid Flame Dragon’s eyes, Jeong Yeon-shin faced the Cheongil Sect experts. The sect leader stood at the rear.
His eyes shone as though he intended to survey the battlefield. Aura light flickered in his pupils, indicating that he had activated a highly advanced eye technique.
‘Why do they keep trying to watch? Immortal Dragon Jegal Hyeon was the same.’
Could they learn simply by watching? Was the Martial Alliance, a coalition of more than a hundred sects, truly moving as one toward some aim?
Jeong Yeon-shin felt a question arise as he drew the divine sword, Northern Light.
Shing.
The crisp sunlight pouring down seemed to gather along the blade. Pure white radiance flashed across its rippling patterns.
Northern Light, reborn as a divine sword during the journey through Sichuan, contained the essence of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s smithing arts.
Tang Family Head Dang Un-hwang had once said that the art of creating bizarre hidden weapons had been concentrated into a single blade.
“Oh...!”
The Cheongil Sect disciples’ admiration did not last long. Jeong Yeon-shin did not yield the initiative. He struck first.
‘I am Desolate Fortress’s representative. I have to leave an overwhelming impression on the Martial Alliance Assembly, whether through martial arts or character.’
If he appeared to hold back in a spar against multiple opponents?
It would be difficult to expect a good reputation at the heart of the Assembly, where rumors traveled faster than any swift sword.
Even if no one liked Desolate Fortress, they had to form a different opinion of the Leader of Demon Wings himself.
The human mind was strange. The sense of inferiority they felt toward the Leader of Demon Wings would soon rise toward Desolate Fortress itself.
That was the purpose of his mission.
Swish!
When he planted caution in them with a feint, the Cheongil Sect disciples drew their swords.
“Come.”
Jeong Yeon-shin said.
The spar began as each of them adjusted their grip on their swords.
Slash!
Clad in a Black Uniform long robe, the boy with a golden character for Desolate gleaming upon it exchanged moves with the Cheongil Sect’s five swordsmen.
Sword light flashed through the whirling hems of their robes, and battle cries scattered through the air.
The transparent air rippled visibly whenever shockwaves burst out.
One move, ten moves, twenty moves...
The expressions of those who had previously shown displeasure gradually changed.
The Cheongil Sect disciples’ mouths fell open. There were two men and two women among them, but none cared about appearances.
It was as though they had coordinated their exchanges with the young Leader of Demon Wings.
He extended and received their sword strikes with such smoothness that it felt like sparring, yet they could not feel offended at all.
It was refreshing, if anything.
The divine sword’s trajectory, drawing smooth white radiance as though it foresaw the next path of their blades, made them feel as if the Leader of Demon Wings was leading their swordsmanship to a higher realm.
It was entirely new. Could a swordsman with such a sensation truly exist under heaven?
‘He is not merely one of the younger generation. Is he not already a completed swordsman?’
The Cheongil Sect Master was so eager to enter the battlefield that he could barely stand still. The Leader of Demon Wings’ sword paths were being carved into his vision.
Anyone could see their supreme depth. It was as the Martial Alliance Military Affairs Office had said. Would it not be possible to experience them from within?
A swordsman with such instinctively profound skill would lead an opponent to a new realm.
‘He shows such favor to those who may become enemies? How can the new Leader of Demon Wings possess such breadth...?’
He did not notice.
With every exchange, the trajectory of Jeong Yeon-shin’s sword strikes was being adjusted by the slightest degree.
With Namgung Hwa-shin away on personal business, only Languid Flame Dragon carefully observed the boy’s movements.
Footnotes:
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