WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 189: Bond (4)

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The sound of running water was clear.

“……”

Jeong Yeon-shin, Leader of Demon Wings, slowly tipped the wine bottle. Dukang Wine filled the cup at an agonizingly slow pace.

The cup before Fist Exemplar Eon Hwa-ryeon trembled faintly. Wine infused with qi pressed forward in powerful waves.

Destructive force was being restrained at the fingers wrapped around the cup. It was a contest of qi control.

It was a battle of moves between supreme masters.

The youth had deliberately attacked first to conceal his disadvantage.

Masters who had achieved the unity of essence, qi, and spirit could wield their power faster than Yeon-shin.

Three Flowers Gather at the Crown was the realm in which the qi one had drawn in, the body one had honed, and the spirituality of the upper dantian harmonized as one.

It was the state in which three flowers became one. Martial monsters who could send inner energy racing at the speed of thought walked the Black Uniform realm.

‘They've trained for decades at the very least.’

Thanks to the immense capabilities of his upper dantian, Yeon-shin had reached his present level of martial arts. He faced Black Uniform opponents with senses that bordered on precognition.

He had to execute his forms faster than they did to meet them on equal terms.

Every fight from Sichuan to this place had been the same.

Even when their exchanges appeared evenly matched, or when he seemed to overwhelm them, a fierce struggle lay hidden in each movement.

Now that Azure Flame, First Form had left him briefly exhausted, he could not exchange moves with anyone.

A supreme master on the level of the First Fist of the Eon Family could choose to exchange a move at any time.

She was a powerful fighter who roamed freely through this dangerous world. Even during a famine, she ate her fill and trained. She would not restrain herself with an opponent before her.

That was why he had used serving wine as a pretext to draw her into a contest of power, so she would not notice the new Leader of Demon Wings' weakness.

The density of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel surpassed that of most masters at the same level. It would be difficult for her to gauge his other abilities.

“Hmph.”

A quiet snort came from Eon Hwa-ryeon, laughter mixed into her breath.

A slight smile touched her lips.

She lounged carelessly in her seat and looked up at Yeon-shin. Aura spread in transparent ripples, brushing over her eyelashes.

It was the power fluctuation of the First Fist of the Eon Family. Her forceful qi rose as she kept it tightly contained so the cup would not break.

The blue veins standing out on the back of her hand testified to the refinement of their silent battle.

Crack.

A fracture suddenly appeared in the cup. Clear liquid ran down a line spreading from its base.

The sound of wine dripping filled the room's silence.

Without a word, the young Leader of Demon Wings set the bottle upright.

Ak Ye-rim's eyes widened slightly. The First Fist of the Eon Family had failed to receive the cup.

Would the same sight have unfolded if their positions were reversed? For now, it was impossible to tell.

“Considering your age,” Eon Hwa-ryeon said, “there must have been many who turned pale in shock. I can tell without seeing it.”

“……”

“I'm surprised for a different reason. To think a child would appear who spoke of drinking etiquette right in front of me. It truly pays to live long. It was certainly a trivial provocation, yet hearing it from you leaves me feeling strange. You have the temperament suited to our family.”

“A provocation?”

“It means you're a born fighter. Since ancient times, a provocation that works has been an exquisite secret move. If you draw out an attacking form and properly secure the responding move, you eventually take control of the flow of attack and defense. You can estimate the direction of the form your opponent will unleash and choose your counterattack beforehand. With your power, your response will be truly frightening. I should be careful.”

She finished speaking leisurely.

Insight flashed through her languid voice. It was chilling.

The strength of the Eight Great Families flowed through her flushed, wine-reddened face. Unlike the Nine Sects, it was not lofty.

It was closer to the confidence that she could break anything standing in her way.

The eyes of a master from a prestigious family, one that had amassed wealth, authority, and martial strength in the secular world, were terrifyingly accurate. They were made for conflict.

“You can infer the shape of a fight from what I say and do.”

Yeon-shin answered as if amused. The person before him felt novel.

Once again, he realized that other supreme masters judged opponents in this way as well.

The youth was different. It was already overwhelming just to process everything entering his senses. Eon Hwa-ryeon, the First Fist of the Eon Family.

The patterns in the power fluctuations she faintly emitted, the physique of the arms exposed by her sleeveless clothing, and the flow of qi she had used to receive the wine cup were all clues to understanding the woman called Fist Exemplar.

‘She practices straightforward martial arts. Her fist forms must be incredibly fast. If she made a name for herself across the realm as a fist fighter, her Protective Qi Technique must be exceptionally solid too.’

Fast martial arts and a firmly constructed Protective Qi Technique came to mind first.

As a supreme master known as the first fist of the Jinju Eon Family, she must also have learned secret arts that ran counter to her primary martial arts.

He also had to account for methods such as the Harmonizing Force mysteries of Wudang Sect's Taiji fist arts or Shaolin's Hundred-Step Divine Fist, which released force waves.

Yeon-shin tried to infer which muscles she chiefly used. Nothing immediately came to mind.

Eon Hwa-ryeon's entire body was developed remarkably evenly.

She possessed the complete bearing of a fist martial artist. No weakness stood out for him to target.

If anything, he welcomed it.

Showing the same sword form several times in enemy territory was foolish.

That remained true even if the youth enjoyed seeing counterforms to his own martial arts. He could not do such a thing before the Family Heads of the Eight Great Families, people he still found difficult to handle.

“I heard about your fist forms,” Eon Hwa-ryeon said with a smile.

“I want to see the form that cut off the Namgung Family's line. This one intends to stay close enough that you cannot use some iron skewer. Unless you've learned something like Cloud Dragon Eight Steps, you ought to respond with Hand Arts.”

Her meaning was clear. She was speaking of Radiant River.

She showed no restraint even with Ak Ye-rim, Namgung Se-jin's former fiancée, before her. The phrase “only I reign supreme” suited her.

She continued.

“You may consider it an honor. I don't mind going body-to-body with you in close combat. It would be different if you were some unattractive fellow. With a face like yours, you're worth seeing what I've got.”

Her words held a double meaning, with flirtatious teasing mixed in.

The division between men and women did not apply in the martial world. Since the elven race had aided the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the status of martial artists had not depended on gender.

Anyone who properly learned martial arts could become strong, regardless of age or sex. It was a world where the weak had to endure any provocation.

Just as the youth had discussed drinking etiquette, her words were a provocation.

“Now, receive my wine.”

Eon Hwa-ryeon's joint lock unfolded. She stretched out her fingers, disrupted Yeon-shin's wrist, and took the bottle.

The sequence of movements was incredibly smooth.

Even if he had responded in earnest, the principle behind it would have been difficult to counter in one move. Still, the youth deliberately did not resist.

He merely stroked the sword hilt with his left hand so she could not seize his pulse. If he struck upward with a reverse-grip sword, Eon Hwa-ryeon's wrist would fly off.

She placed the wine cup in his hand and smiled.

“How can I share a drink with you when the Leader of Demon Wings is gripping his sword like he means to kill me?”

“It would be idiotic to freely give both arms to a fist master.”

The youth answered calmly.

The corners of Eon Hwa-ryeon's lips rose further as she tipped the jade bottle toward Yeon-shin's cup.

Clear Dukang Wine flowed from the bottle's mouth, which lightly tapped the cup.

This time, there was no sign of anything. Unlike Yeon-shin, she seemed not to have added any power.

“Child, I have no desire to argue with you. Life is too short even to enjoy. Chivalry, manners, all of it is empty. There are too many burdensome things in this martial world. You'll understand in ten years. You don't seem like a foolish child, so by then, you'll think of my words at least once.”

“Thank you.”

Yeon-shin replied. Talk of years beyond the three he expected to live was generally meant as a blessing.

He had finished examining the final formidable opponent of the grand founding ceremony and had been about to turn away when he heard such kind words.

Eon Hwa-ryeon's long eyebrows lowered, then rose.

“If you welcome this one's advice, take a drink. It's a little unfair that I'm the only one feeling the effects of the wine.”

That was when the Languid Flame Dragon suddenly reached out and grasped Yeon-shin's cup.

“Squad Leader, let's drink somewhere else. I'll teach you drinking etiquette.”

White light rippled in the eyes of the Huangbo Family's opium poppy addict.

It was a secret eye technique of the Huangbo Family. It did not compare to those of the Zhuge and Moyong Families, but it was still a supreme art of the Eight Great Families.

The Languid Flame Dragon had learned the methods of inner-energy martial artists who peddled drugs through many years of indulgence.

The moment Eon Hwa-ryeon tipped the bottle, a white current peculiar to a bewildering drug spread out.

She had gripped the side of the bottle opposite Yeon-shin's hand and applied her power.

It was the act of releasing medicinal ingredients she had attached in advance with inner energy. Anyone unaware of it could only mistake it for steam and dismiss it.

It was not a lethal poison. It would only induce sleep, unconsciousness, or numbness.

A supreme poison capable of killing a supreme master could not be administered so easily.

Still, the moment he raised his power to resist, he would expose his true qi without defense.

This differed from when Yeon-shin had locally released the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel while testing Eon Hwa-ryeon.

He had come to probe her and had nearly revealed his own hand first.

“Healthy drinks alone are already not enough, and you're using such filthy tricks...”

Scorching Yang qi rose from the Languid Flame Dragon's hand. The wine in the cup boiled furiously, then rose as a single trail of smoke.

The white vapor stretching all the way to the ceiling scattered as it mingled with the wind. Ak Ye-rim, standing off to one side, covered her lips with a hand.

The Languid Flame Dragon sneered without a care.

“Playing dirty tricks. Don't you have any shame?”

“The world really isn't easy. Living comfortably is hard.”

Eon Hwa-ryeon gave an awkward smile. Her brazen yet languid expression suited her well, as though she had made a drunken mistake.

“Let's go.”

Yeon-shin slowly turned away. There was nothing to gain by arguing here. Hanzhong was the territory of the Zhuge Family and the Martial Alliance Assembly.

A small trick by Eon Hwa-ryeon would easily be covered up.

It would also be troublesome to make the matter public through Hyeon Won-chang.

The strongest retaliation would be to crush her with martial arts at the grand founding ceremony and claim the Great Revitalization Pill.

That was when Eon Hwa-ryeon abruptly spoke.

“Child, when you rescued the Mount Hua Sect's chief disciple, the Prefect's death caused an uproar. The official had maintained a good relationship with our alliance.”

“……”

“I heard the person's head was severed in one stroke... Don't you have any idea who did it? They say that Mount Hua disciple claimed not to have seen the Prefect, despite every trace of the Prefect pointing to that remote island. It was quite suspicious. Like your silence now.”

Her voice slithered like a snake's tongue. Eon Hwa-ryeon's half-lidded eyes, set above flushed cheeks, held the youth in black robes.

There was something strange about the way she waited for an answer. She resembled a fist fighter just before throwing a tightly coiled straight punch.

Her clear gaze traced down the back of his neck. Though she appeared bold and relaxed, Eon Hwa-ryeon was undeniably one of the Eight Great Families.

The letter the Zhuge Family Head had sent to the Prefect.

It said they would overlook the plundering of commoners if the Prefect helped facilitate the exchange of goods between Hanzhong and Yunyang.

It was evidence that local government offices and martial factions had cooperated during the famine. The Assembly seemed to have desperately searched for it after Yu Hyeon's return.

There was no reason for someone like the Prefect to destroy documents that could tighten the noose around the Assembly.

And so, in the end, they had come to suspect the Leader of Demon Wings who had rescued Yu Hyeon.

“The island where the commoners were penned up like livestock.”

The youth slightly turned his head and parted his lips.

“The words of someone called the First Fist of the Eon Family are laughable. If the Prefect was there, that means the Prefect had a hand in plundering the commoners. Yet even assuming that, you still insist on looking for the Prefect. Doesn't that mean there was some corrupt relationship between you? What right do you have to interrogate this Squad Leader?”

“You've become unusually talkative. Is it because commoners are involved? That is the tongue of a Desolate Fortress martial artist.”

She gave a faint laugh and waved a hand.

“Go now. We will meet atop the sparring platform tomorrow.”

“I wonder what it feels like to be hit by words and fists at the same time. This young master has never experienced it... Well, in any case, First Fist of the Eon Family, please survive and tell us.”

With the Languid Flame Dragon's final words, the two descended the stairs.

Ak Ye-rim kept her mouth shut, her expression complicated.

Leaning against the wall, Eon Hwa-ryeon spun the broken wine cup with a finger.

“My fists will have some spring in them. Those two bastards are quite good at getting under people's skin.”

“……”

“It has been a while since I turned someone into pulp. I might as well try the Great Revitalization Pill too... The Alliance Leader had better go easy on me.”

In the realm of supreme masters of equal standing, self-confidence was almost essential. It was an exceedingly delicate world.

A form unleashed without firm conviction could not carry its full power.

Eon Hwa-ryeon's lips curved. It was a smile filled with anticipation.

* * *

Pure white sunlight settled on the roofs of the palace halls.

Jegal Cheong-a purified herself with a bath.

It was an important day. The means to cut down the tyranny of her father, the Zhuge Family Head, would be decided today.

If Seom-ye, Leader of Demon Wings, could not handle Fist Exemplar Eon Hwa-ryeon, she would need to devise a new plan.

The girl desperately hoped that would not happen.

She arranged her black hair, tied with sky-blue silk, behind her neck. She also straightened her clothes neatly.

Pale blue sleeves closer to formal dress than martial attire softly swept the air. The fabric resembled indigo.

Her older brother, the Immortal Dragon Jegal Hyeon, knew nothing.

Completely engrossed in the Leader of Demon Wings' sparring match, he had left early that morning to claim a spot with a good view in the Assembly leadership's tent.

In the meantime, Jegal Cheong-a had gone to confirm that the Clear Qilin's body was still there intact.

The Assembly's affairs moved in complex ways, with more than a hundred sects and factions tangled together.

There was no knowing when the Namgung Family would change its mind and recover the corpse.

‘I'm sorry. You'll be able to rest now.’

After offering her condolences once more, she headed for the grand founding ceremony's sparring platform.

The roads inside the Assembly were empty. The girl walked through nothing but dust-laden wind. Everyone appeared to have gone to broaden their knowledge by watching the supreme masters spar.

With no one in sight, she felt profoundly lonely. Just like the eyes of the Leader of Demon Wings she had seen before.

‘He has to win.’

Jegal Cheong-a thought as she walked.

He had to dominate the grand founding ceremony. The plan would come to fruition when a powerful fighter recognized by the gathered heroes became greatly enraged.

He had to establish his convictions through force, with righteous justification on his side.

But Fist Exemplar Eon Hwa-ryeon's reputation was far too great. The title First Fist of the Eon Family was no exaggeration.

Her name was well known among the Eight Great Families.

She had carried on an affair with the Zhuge Family Head after his wife died and had not been caught in any major scandal. She was that strong.

Everyone in the Assembly was under her father's influence.

‘Please.’

Cheers reached Jegal Cheong-a's ears as she clasped her white hands. She could also see the crowd almost completely encircling the sparring platform.

Qi filled the girl's steps. She used lightness skill to reach the platform in an instant.

Tap.

With nimble movement, she climbed onto one of the watchtowers. It was a seat assigned to distinguished guests.

Jegal Cheong-a hurriedly turned her gaze.

How many exchanges had they already traded? Two figures in the center of the sparring platform entered her sight.

Eon Hwa-ryeon retreated with a backward stepping technique, while Yeon-shin pursued her with True Step that shook the ground.

A gale of Helix burst from the young Leader of Demon Wings' hand. Colorless force waves whirled.

It came at her explosively, smashing and crushing the sparring platform's floor.

Even the black hem of the long robe fluttering behind the youth seemed terrifying.

Everything she saw appeared to proclaim the stature of a Desolate Fortress Squad Leader.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!

The girl had arrived at an incredible moment.

Radiant River, which people had only heard of through rumor, was unfolding.

Footnotes:

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