Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 193

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 193: Sword Thunder Flash Ridge Form

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He had to withstand the Sword Star's sword.

It was a weighty task. Surviving alone would be an extraordinary feat.

He would have to face it with the resolve to endure a disaster. Jeong Yeon-shin had thought so from the moment he set out on this assignment.

‘This is a realm I must step into.’

There were swordsmen who could cleave through the laws of the world with a single strike.

The Divine Sword Squad Leader, the Wudang Sect's sect leader, the Heavenly Nemesis Sect Master of the Thirteen Heavens of the Unorthodox Path, and even the Tyrant Sword Sect Master, who had recently slain the Qingcheng Sect's sect leader.

Throughout the realm, there were at least as many Purple Uniform monsters of astonishing strength as there were major factions.

They had dominated their generations. That was why they were peerless masters.

Their names spanned past and present. Enthusiasts did not hesitate to compare them with legendary figures of former ages who had left their epithets in the martial world's history.

Sword Star Hyeon So-baek was no exception.

Common folk regarded him as the reincarnation of Sword Immortal Lu Dongbin. Even the sword strike he used to honor Jeong Yeon-shin while driving him back would be difficult to withstand.

There was no telling how many defensive forms he would need in a single exchange. It was the only obstacle remaining for the boy at the Martial Alliance Assembly.

Right after Cheon Ju-jin said he would help him with that, two of the three distinguished guests flinched. The chief disciples of Jeomchang and Mount Hua Sect adjusted their postures.

Perhaps Cheon Ju-jin had not told them beforehand.

A transparent ripple spread across the pond beside the table where the four sat. Vibrations stirred by their presence formed concentric rings.

White and red sunlight trembled quietly over the waves carrying a few autumn leaves.

As if revealing the feelings of those gathered there.

“Oh.”

A woman with exceptional aura murmured.

A dark treasured sword hung at her waist, and she wore a crimson silk martial outfit. Her pitch-black hair nearly brushed its sheath.

Though her bearing had been honed sharp, the drooping corners of her large eyes made her seem gentle. There was a delicate quality to the clear spirit of a Nine Sects martial artist about her.

Little Sword Empress Chwi So-ok.

It was only natural for her and Mount Hua Hidden Dragon Yu Hyeon to straighten their backs. The Mount Hua Sword Absolute, whose fame had resounded across the realm for over a decade, was discussing swordsmanship.

Cheon Ju-jin had once lamented that he had not been able to name Azure Flame, First Form. He had joked that countless people would offer several sacks of rice for a name from him.

A discussion of swords was another matter.

Along with Wudang, Mount Hua Sect was one of the foremost sword sects among the orthodox martial lineages. The Mount Hua Sword Absolute's advice was worth as much as relief provisions in these chaotic times.

Even supreme masters of equal standing were said to seek his theories on the sword. All swordsmen in the martial world longed for even a single word from him.

The Little Sword Empress parted her lips softly, her eyes wide.

“Should I excuse myself? I came without knowing Your Reverence's intention.”

“There's no need. Whenever our practitioners travel through Yunnan, they receive assistance from the Jeomchang Sect. You are the chief disciple and the legitimate inheritor of the Four Escapes Sword Art, so I would be glad if hearing this proves useful to you. It is also worth encouraging a promising talent of the Nine Sects to build ties with the Leader of Demon Wings.”

Cheon Ju-jin spoke in an even tone.

It contrasted with the content of his words. Mount Hua Sect's swordsmen were usually like this. They trained among the rugged mountains of the Western Peak, and their temperaments were as solid as stone.

Their usually indifferent expressions seemed the very image of a swordsman. Yu Hyeon was the unusual one.

The Little Sword Empress smiled faintly.

“Thank you for your generous words. Still, Squad Leader Jeong and I are already close. We traveled together from Sichuan to Xiangyang, and we even joined forces to subdue the Heart Martial Union's army. I couldn't help him at all. I only received his kindness...”

Her somewhat vacant smile was oddly playful. Her gaze had already turned to the boy.

Jeong Yeon-shin could not think of a suitable reply.

It was awkward to simply say thank you, and he could not readily offer an equally embarrassing reply.

As he only stared blankly at her, a crease formed across the handsome bridge of Yu Hyeon's nose. The young Taoist, sitting cross-legged beside him, seemed to be suppressing laughter in front of his martial uncle.

Ignoring his long-nosed friend of the same age, the boy spoke.

“I am curious about Your Reverence's intent. My sword art may still be incomplete, but that alone is not enough reason for you to grant such favor to a Desolate Fortress martial artist. The main fortress is not a fellow companion on the path of cultivation like the Nine Sects.”

“Wonsi Anjin.”

Cheon Ju-jin uttered his Taoist name.

“You have also formed a fated bond with Yu Hyeon. Did you not save Yu Hyeon's life twice? The life of Mount Hua Sect's chief disciple, who inherited the Purple Haze Divine Technique, is not a light one. Yu Hyeon should spend a lifetime repaying that debt, but Yu Hyeon's abilities are lacking, so I am repaying it instead.”

Then it was not a debt.

The boy decided to set his mind at ease.

Ever since he created the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel with the Seventh Apostle's help, he had become sensitive about favors and grudges. The martial world was a world of favors and grudges.

All fame and influence began with favors and grudges, and were settled through favors and grudges.

Even masters of the unorthodox sects found it difficult to maintain their standing in the martial world if they repaid kindness with resentment. It was a principle ingrained in the spirit of the age.

Now that he was the head of Desolate Fortress's martial forces, he could not accept help carelessly.

That held true even if the other party belonged to the most just and honorable orthodox martial lineage.

He had to eliminate as many matters as possible that might affect his future actions. Only then could he wield his blade wholly for the people's livelihood.

The young Taoist of his age gave a teasing wiggle of his brows, as if he understood the circumstances.

Jeong Yeon-shin only nodded slightly before speaking.

“I will listen carefully.”

“I will tell you of a training method too embarrassing to call instruction. It is only a small clue.”

Cheon Ju-jin smiled faintly and gestured into the air.

Swish!

An invisible force wave shot out. An extraordinarily sharp fluctuation of power skimmed past the branches.

A branch fell from the pine tree that had cast a tranquil shade over the pond. It was long and thick.

Cheon Ju-jin caught it gently.

“Our sect leader is a very gentle person and rarely takes a switch to the disciples. So I did.”

Yu Hyeon flinched at those words, but nobody paid attention.

Jeong Yeon-shin and the Little Sword Empress were focused on Cheon Ju-jin's hand. There was something strange about the way it ran over the rough pine branch.

Swoosh.

With one light stroke, various forms of aura flowed out. Waves striking the air raced in every direction.

It was like colorless sunlight scattering apart. The methods taking shape beneath Cheon Ju-jin's hand were not limited to one or two.

Yet the thick branch was smoothly trimmed into an even straight line.

The callused fingertips shaped it into the form of a narrow wooden sword. It was the strange feat of a master.

Without rising from his seat, Cheon Ju-jin made a slender wooden sword.

It took fewer than three breaths. Strips of bark fell between his fingers and piled up in a small heap.

“Beginning with the first form of our sect's Plum Blossom Sword Art, Plum Blossom by the Roadside, I started but did not complete the seventh form, Plum Blossoms in Profusion. It is a method of swiftly shifting the inner energy in the palm into the next form. I chained together the opening stances for circulating power.”

He had shaped the wood with the remaining force waves produced by stopping each sword form midway.

Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes gleamed. He had not known martial arts training could have such an interesting method.

Mount Hua Sect had been renowned as a sword sect since ancient times. A sect with such a long history possessed techniques this unusual. Even its methods of instruction were different.

At last, something boyish appeared on the Leader of Demon Wings' face. Curiosity seemed to flow from his upturned eyes.

Cheon Ju-jin smiled.

“Try holding every mystery of your sword art in your hand. No matter how many forms you pass through, the bark must be stripped away evenly. Each sword form will aim for something entirely different, so you must create countless changes in the way you direct qi to make a proper wooden sword. You have heard tales of masters who faced formidable enemies with a branch snapped off while walking, have you not? You may consider this an extension of such tales. A force wave must gain an edge if it is to carry power properly.”

It was a training method for mastering the essence of linking sword forms. Though Cheon Ju-jin called it nothing special, it was clearly a secret teaching of the sect.

It would be more useful to Jeong Yeon-shin, whose sword art remained unrefined, than to those practicing a completed martial art like Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Art.

If there was a gap in the link between his forms, the same thing that happened when the Law Enforcement Squad Leader had countered his Radiant Sword Flow would inevitably happen again.

No matter how powerful each form was on its own.

“Making a wooden sword...”

The boy repeated the words.

Cheon Ju-jin, who had been quietly watching the younger swordsman, asked, “Would you like to try?”

“Yes.”

Jeong Yeon-shin readily nodded. Apart from the aura sense in his upper dantian, his own judgment told him the same thing.

Because he lacked an exceptional chain of forms, his sword art had no quality running through all its forms. That nameless sword art would surely be completed at the Martial Alliance Assembly.

“Fortunately, there is an evergreen tree here. Pine is straightforward, but if you examine it closely, it is extremely demanding. Nothing is better for training.”

Cheon Ju-jin cut off another branch as thick as a club. As always, a sharp force wave brushed through the sky.

This time, Jeong Yeon-shin caught it above his head. Its rough texture settled into his grip. It was very thick.

“Sharpen one wooden sword cleanly. That is all. Your sword forms will become wholly bound into one form. That is true swordsmanship. I believe it will not take you long.”

As he listened to Cheon Ju-jin, Jeong Yeon-shin stirred his power.

A wheel of light turned within his heart, and the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel that rose from that wheel flowed straight into his palm.

At the same time, the force wave residing in the Laogong acupoint of his palm surged like wind.

It was the first form of his nameless sword art.

Crack!

He clearly felt the bark being ground away. Yet the instant he gathered the remaining force wave to unfold the second form, the branch crumbled apart.

A small cloud of dust rose and swept across Jeong Yeon-shin's hand.

Yu Hyeon, beside him, exclaimed softly.

“So there are things you can't do!”

“Don't laugh.”

The boy muttered after experiencing an unfamiliar failure. Though he had never had a friend of his own age, the response came naturally.

Yu Hyeon's smile vanished without a trace. The Little Sword Empress, watching from across the way, let out a breath tinged with laughter.

“It isn't easy, is it? Even for you. The more exceptional the forms, the more difficult this training becomes.”

“It seems difficult even to make a single edge.”

“Even making a single-edged wooden sword without going as far as a double-edged sword requires considerable attainment. All the more so with your sword forms. Yes, aim for a single-edged sword first.”

“Thank you for your instruction.”

At the boy's fist-and-palm salute, Cheon Ju-jin returned the gesture. Though he addressed him casually due to an old connection, Jeong Yeon-shin was still the Leader of Demon Wings.

Cheon Ju-jin treated him as an equal to the leader of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, regardless of age.

“It is a training method too embarrassing to call instruction. Still, the greater your hardship, the greater its use once you achieve it. Let this small repayment drive you to improve. This is a time when Desolate Fortress's role is more important than ever. With martial strength like yours, you could save thousands of common people.”

Cheon Ju-jin spoke in a grave tone.

He was not speaking of the Demonic Sect alone. It was why the Martial Alliance's stance was clear.

While the immortals of the Nine Sects responded passively to worldly affairs, the alliance, whose major leaders came from martial families, dreamed of overturning Desolate Fortress.

The martial world was meant to be a world of unfettered masters.

Martial families were clans that formed and dissolved alliances across such lands.

They gained their names by clashing with the Demonic Sect. When they could afford to, they aided common people and made their chivalrous reputations known.

Where the eyes of the realm did not reach, they used force to seize profit.

Even as they frequently tore down inns and Guan Di temples, they proclaimed that officials and the martial world must not interfere with one another and walked above the clouds.

That very uninhibited order was the ideal world for martial families to gain names, power, and wealth.

After the Yuan Dynasty was driven out, however, the Ming imperial court was established, and the unchecked rise of local strongmen who built power through martial arts was more strictly proscribed than ever.

The martial world held its breath beneath Desolate Fortress's chilling blade. Order in the people's livelihood became the highest banner.

Martial sects were suppressed. Resentment naturally accumulated. The turmoil caused by the destruction of the Huangbo Family and the extermination of the Namgung direct line was also immense.

Enough to make martial clans stop at nothing to secure their own interests.

Jeong Yeon-shin truly felt the weight of those circumstances after seeing off the Nine Sects' honored guests.

It was right after he made a single-edged wooden sword on his second attempt.

“What kind of wooden sword is that...!”

Before the pale-faced young Taoist's cry had even faded from his mind, the young Leader of Demon Wings brought Jegal Cheong-a through the gate.

She had been told to humble herself and come visit after the grand founding ceremony ended. This visit had been expected.

With chaos still raging after the First Fist of the Eon Family had fallen to the Leader of Demon Wings' fingertips, the handsome young Squad Leader and the girl stiff with tension faced each other by the pond.

Pine needles, brown like rust, scattered on the dry wind.

Beneath the exceptionally clear indigo sky, Jeong Yeon-shin held a wooden sword at his side and asked why she had come.

“Speak.”

Jegal Cheong-a trembled under the Leader of Demon Wings' calm gaze.

Was it because she had watched the spar with Eon Hwa-ryeon? Her small lips, which had always remained coolly shut, seemed somewhat dry.

The girl slowly opened her mouth.

“If you listen to me, you will have to fight through many opponents in a short time. Famous elite martial artists...”

“Speak.”

A sudden ache ran through his knee, and the boy frowned.

It usually hurt at night, but now it came even during the day. The pain he had grown used to irritated him.

‘I’ll have to adjust my combat range in training again.’

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