WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Chapter 19: Hand Arts (2)
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“Truly formidable. An unbelievable realm for someone your age.”
Ma Yeon-jeok exclaimed in admiration. Ma Yeon-jeok strode forward as though having discovered a supreme work of art.
As Ma Yeon-jeok examined Jeong Yeon-shin closely, the wrinkles on Ma Yeon-jeok’s face revealed undisguised astonishment, enough to make the handsome boy beside Ma Yeon-jeok visibly uncomfortable.
“Greetings, Grandfather. I am Jeong Yeon-shin of Demon Wings.”
He spoke calmly, clasping his hands in salute and bowing his head slightly.
“...?”
There was no sound until he raised his head.
The air itself seemed palpable. Doubt, bewilderment, curiosity...
Ma Yeon-jeok’s beard, draped over the front of the purple robe, trembled slightly.
“You...”
Ma Yeon-jeok, the former Divine Sword Squad Leader, was a Purple Uniform martial artist of Desolate Fortress.
Ma Yeon-jeok stood at the pinnacle of the White Uniform, Blue Uniform, Black Uniform, and Purple Uniform hierarchy.
It was said that the intuition of supreme experts who had entered the realm of Ascension and opened their upper dantian was terrifyingly keen.
Ma Yeon-jeok looked at Jeong Yeon-shin, who had called Ma Yeon-jeok Grandfather, and the Lord of Desolate Fortress, who wore a faint smile.
There was no way Ma Yeon-jeok could fail to realize it.
“Jeong... the Jeong family. Jeong Family Manor.”
“It is our first meeting.”
Unlike Ma Yeon-jeok, whose face was steadily filling with shock, Jeong Yeon-shin remained calm.
His maternal relatives had never come to Xinye County.
He had heard that they had not come even for his parents’ wedding, nor had there been any contact after his mother died giving birth to him.
It was the sort of story one would hear only in local gossip. A daughter married into a lowly family, and her family had all but severed ties with her.
Only the nominal connection of in-laws with the Desolate Ma family remained.
“You are my sister’s son?”
Ma Jin, standing beside Ma Yeon-jeok, had opened their eyes so wide they looked ready to split.
Come to think of it, they shared the same surname.
There was a reason Ma Yeon-jeok and Ma Jin had not exchanged greetings. They were father and son.
‘In martial families, the Family Head’s word is law. Did the family rules forbid them from meeting?’
The family was powerful, yet lacked any true pedigree. Yeon-shin gave a small laugh.
“You spoke of becoming my master, yet you were my uncle. Or are you perhaps my elder uncle? I do not know my maternal family’s lineage. Even in the family that was destroyed, I was a child they had cast aside.”
“...”
“I understand. Desolate Fortress Black Uniform. You would not have had time to visit a household without even a sister.”
It was a barb with bite.
Yeon-shin’s five senses had sharpened now that he was beginning to enter the ranks of experts, sharp enough for him to have overheard the conversation leaking from the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s office before he even reached its door.
- ...I hear you have a grandson through your daughter.
- My Lord, where could the blood of such a paltry manor possibly go? It would be fortunate if he did not become a disgrace to the Desolate Ma family. This child is my heir. Though he is from a collateral branch, his talent is exceptional.
It was something to be grateful for.
One look at Ma Yeon-jeok’s troubled face made that clear.
A Purple Uniform supreme expert would be able to gauge Yeon-shin’s accomplishments at a glance. Ma Yeon-jeok would also know that Yeon-shin had overheard their conversation.
‘The Desolate Ma family saved me from the hands of the Tyrant Sword Sect Leader. That is enough.’
He was already advancing splendidly as a Desolate Fortress expert. Even the Lord of Desolate Fortress had acknowledged his potential.
He would fulfill his duties.
But no further than that.
The Mas appeared not to have known that Jeong Family Manor had fallen.
They had completely cut off their interest in him, so he had no wish to ingratiate himself with them now.
Why cling to others for something he could obtain alone?
‘Complicated relationships like these do not help my martial arts.’
He needed to settle the matter here before leaving.
He looked at the face of the former Divine Sword Squad Leader, who had grown incomparably grave.
“...My Lord. May I speak with the child alone?”
At Ma Yeon-jeok’s request, Yeon-shin immediately cut in.
“I am the child of a married-out daughter. As a martial artist of Desolate Fortress, I respect the merits my maternal grandfather established. However, further private conversation would be burdensome.”
“...”
A married-out daughter was considered to have no ties to her natal family.
That was how they had treated her. What more was there to say?
‘They are a family so desperate for an heir that they have even taken in an adopted son.’
Now that he was focused on martial arts, he did not want to create troublesome family matters.
What he had experienced while living in Jeong Family Manor was more than enough.
The Lord of Desolate Fortress, who had watched with an interested expression, slowly spoke.
“Demon Wings Seom-ye. Your spirit is admirable.”
Her slightly curving eyes were beautiful enough to be striking.
Yeon-shin offered a slight bow.
He was somewhat puzzled to have apparently gained her favor, but the Lord’s support put him at ease.
Then it happened.
“I cannot accept this! How can someone like him be Grandfather’s direct descendant? How can he be so disrespectful to the former Divine Sword Squad Leader?”
It was the boy who had stood there with an uncomfortable expression the entire time.
The anger in his eyes was exceptionally fierce. He seemed unaware that he stood before the Lord of Desolate Fortress.
“I do not need your acceptance. I am not a member of the Desolate Ma family. I am Seom-ye of Demon Wings.”
Yeon-shin remained calm throughout.
Hyeon Won-chang’s words suddenly came to mind.
The martial world was a world of shameless people who introduced themselves by their own epithets.
“How dare you!”
Yeon-shin had chuckled unintentionally, and the boy appeared to have taken it as provocation.
Furious, the boy turned toward his step-grandfather.
“Please permit a duel. I will prove that he has no worth as a blood relative.”
“There is no reason to.”
Yeon-shin responded.
“If you seek a lesson from me, I can grant one. But I have no obligation to show my worth to you or your family. Not even the Squad Leader can issue such a private command.”
It was a statement that seemed to look down on him from far above.
The hem of Yeon-shin’s White Uniform fluttered slightly as he stared directly at the boy.
The momentum that flowed from him without intention now spoke for his strength.
While Ma Jin remained silent, the boy snorted as though dumbfounded and raised a knife-hand as if he would attack at once.
‘He mainly practices Hand Arts.’
A glint appeared in Yeon-shin’s eyes.
He had noticed the pair of hand guards hanging at the boy’s waist.
At the same time, he withdrew his imposing momentum.
The aura that vanished in an instant, as though extinguished with a puff, demonstrated his ability to control his inner energy.
“Please forgive my discourtesy. I displayed an unruly attitude.”
He clasped his hands and apologized to the Lord of Desolate Fortress for carelessly revealing his energy.
Ma Jin looked troubled yet proud, while Ma Yeon-jeok’s complexion darkened further.
“Enough arguing.”
She spoke quietly.
“Yeon-jeok has been like a close friend to me for many years, and Seom-ye is a promising subordinate. Since the conflict between the two sides has grown troublesome, it would be best to resolve it as martial artists. Stake what each of you desires. Do you agree with my opinion?”
Yeon-shin gazed at the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s beautiful face.
Her expression made it difficult to discern her intentions.
She smiled.
“Seom-ye. I know there is nothing for you to gain. As a friend of the former Divine Sword Squad Leader, I will grant one request of yours regardless of the outcome.”
“Even that?”
Yeon-shin asked boldly.
He meant the World Tree fruit.
The Lord of Desolate Fortress’s smile deepened.
“Only that remains difficult for now. The same would be true even if the retired Yeon-jeok requested it. Yeon-jeok has already been rewarded in other ways for merits as Divine Sword Squad Leader. However, I can pass down one of my signature techniques.”
“Martial arts...!”
This meant being personally taught by a peerless expert close to the strongest under heaven.
Words concerning a rare opportunity, one that came only rarely in the world, were being exchanged before them.
It appeared to be no ordinary matter even for the Desolate Ma family’s adopted heir.
Greed appeared on the face of the boy beside the astonished Ma Yeon-jeok.
If he won, he looked likely to demand martial arts rather than follow his step-grandfather’s wishes.
‘His thoughts are obvious. My maternal family is quite something. They took someone like that in as their heir.’
Yeon-shin wondered whether the boy’s talent was truly so exceptional.
In any event, the conditions had clearly improved, so he readily nodded.
“I will do it.”
* * *
They headed to the Training Hall behind the main fortress.
The Lord of Desolate Fortress’s rare appearance outside drew attention, but no one dared follow.
Ma Yeon-jeok subtly approached in an attempt to speak with Yeon-shin somehow, but Yeon-shin boldly stayed at the Lord’s side instead.
She gave a short laugh.
“Make yourself comfortable. I use this place alone.”
Her Training Hall was exceedingly luxurious.
Even the floor was far from ordinary.
All manner of weapons, seemingly beyond price, were lined up on stone racks, while the vast floor was entirely marble.
It seemed too precious a place on which to perform True Step.
‘Spoils said to have been taken after destroying the Dali Kingdom in Yunnan.’
The Lord of Desolate Fortress was said to be the Emperor’s Divine Sword.
There had been several occasions when she had wiped out the royal houses of small states or major sects once they showed signs of rebellion.
That was why her name was never absent from discussions of the strongest under heaven.
It was impossible to know where such a slender body held such overwhelming divine might.
“This should be enough room to watch.”
The Lord stopped quietly at one side of the Training Hall.
Her long lashes looked like a painting, and the light-green cloak that reached her ankles fluttered softly in the spring breeze.
‘Huh?’
Yeon-shin paused.
Only then did he notice the treasured sword at her waist.
Until now, he had perceived it not as a sword, but as though it were part of nature itself.
It was beyond the level of unity with the sword that Yeon-shin had attained.
‘That sends chills down my spine. What martial realm has she reached?’
Then the Lord of Desolate Fortress turned, and their eyes met.
Her red lips drew a smooth curve.
“You have good eyes.”
“My apologies.”
The boy standing at the center of the Training Hall with Yeon-shin sneered.
He had already put on a pair of refined ink-dark hand guards.
They were equipment worthy of an heir to the Desolate Ma family, famed for its fist arts.
“Were you distracted by the Lord’s beauty, you lowborn wretch?”
“Are you not from a collateral branch?”
“You dare...!”
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer further and closed his eyes slightly.
‘I learned something on this mission.’
After killing the Blood Master, he had gained certainty.
He could win the World Tree fruit himself.
They said martial arts training was like climbing a thousand-foot cliff with bare hands.
That was the belief of martial artists of orthodox sects.
They did not even consider sorcery, Blood Arts, or demonic arts, which harmed both others and their own practitioners, to be martial arts.
Only by building martial arts through and through could one fully reach the ultimate realm. They said it was like cultivating the Dao.
For Yeon-shin, it was different.
It was not a steep cliff, but a well-laid staircase.
As one who breathed in the realm of martial arts, he was no different from a fish roaming the deep sea.
‘Demon Wings is enough.’
The expanse of martial arts he had unfolded after entering Desolate Fortress was so fertile that it was difficult to imagine any lack.
He could scatter seeds of his own making and make anything grow.
Therefore, he did not need the Desolate Ma family.
“Come.”
Yeon-shin opened his eyes and slowly beckoned.
“Hup!”
The boy, burning with rage, did not hesitate.
The instant he kicked off the ground, he charged forward in an opening stance Yeon-shin had never seen before.
‘Qi extended from all four of his limbs.’
Thwack!
Yeon-shin flicked aside the fist that shot toward him at astonishing speed with the back of his hand.
The Force Projection behind it was truly tremendous.
He had to increase the strength in his elbow immensely in that instant.
Whoosh!
The aftershock of the sweeping force whipped at his clothing.
Perhaps the boy had consumed precious spiritual medicine, because his inner energy alone greatly surpassed Yeon-shin’s.
Yeon-shin immediately imbued the energy within his body with the principles of the Ultimate Realm.
The qi circulating throughout his body layered over itself whenever necessary, amplifying his strength.
From then on, it was instinct.
Following the pathways of Demon's Light, his outstretched hands began breaking apart the boy’s Hand Arts, link by link.
Bam! Bam! Thud!
The Desolate Ma family’s Hand Arts were straightforward.
Every strike was heavy, yet the chain of forms never ceased.
It seemed as though he poured all his strength into one fist, only for a force wave to burst from the opposite fist in the next instant.
All manner of principles blended together harmoniously, making it all the more powerful.
‘So this is what a true powerful fist is like.’
Despite his frivolous disposition, the boy had properly learned the martial arts of a distinguished family.
The occasional exquisite movements were deeply impressive.
Impressive enough to inspire new ideas in Yeon-shin’s mind.
“Why do you not draw your sword?”
“Your fist art is outstanding.”
Yeon-shin answered casually as he swirled like a leaf and struck in at the boy’s elbow.
He was working backward from it.
After seeing an opponent release force in such a way, he realized that such a form was possible and began comprehending methods of qi circulation.
It was entirely backward.
“You bastard!”
Boom!
The marble floor caved in.
A strong wind swept out from the fist that shot forward with True Step, but Yeon-shin lightly diverted it and landed like a leaf riding the wind.
“A powerful fist of my own has come to mind. Ten more forms will be enough.”
Pale-blue lightning flickered in his eyes.
From a distance, the three experts watched the duel.
Seeing Yeon-shin’s Body Movement Scripture, which called to mind that of the elven race, each wore a different expression.
Ma Yeon-jeok drew their brows together, their expression complicated.
“He speaks of ten forms here? No matter how extraordinary his talent may be...”
“No. Those words probably mean...”
Ma Jin was unable to continue for a moment before finally opening their lips again with difficulty.
“He does not mean he will finish it in ten forms. He means he will create it in ten forms.”
Footnotes:
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