WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 194: Sword Thunder Flash Ridge Form (2)
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“Didn't you find anything strange when you fought the First Fist of the Eon Family?”
Jegal Cheong-a's voice was clear and pleasant. It carried a resonance that reminded him of the Lord of Desolate Fortress, lightly tickling his ears.
Perhaps because she had mastered her secret eye technique, the qi from her Tongziliao acupoint seemed to reach the back of her head.
Yet her expression did not match her even voice. Her normally indifferent face was strangely tense.
“Strange?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked as he touched his bare left hand. The left sleeve of the Black Uniform long robe he had inherited from Ma Jin had been torn away with his arm.
Whenever he faced or thought of a formidable enemy, he became keenly aware of the emptiness at his left side.
The bare skin of his left arm reminded him of the weight carried by a Desolate Fortress Squad Leader.
“You said I'd have to fight elite martial artists. Does this concern Fist Exemplar Eon Hwa-ryeon as well?”
“Yes. Certainly.”
Jegal Cheong-a answered quietly.
She had a purpose.
She knew her words had to be persuasive. She was trying to move the Leader of Demon Wings of Desolate Fortress.
Even Seom-ye himself could not act lightly. A supreme master in the Black Uniform realm served as a strategic weapon in a sect war.
Though they did not show it openly, the Assembly was deeply wary of the Leader of Demon Wings. It was like keeping a thunderclap bomb pressed against their hearts.
Such masters were difficult even for the Eight Great Families to possess two of.
Even martial families of immense prestige were no exception. Beneath the Family Head, such people were the ones who truly elevated a family's reputation.
She could not see him as a boy her own age. Jegal Cheong-a understood that clearly.
‘He isn't someone who can be moved by one person's testimony.’
If she treated him carelessly, even a cherished daughter of a great family would suffer for it. She had to begin with what could persuade Jeong Yeon-shin, the Leader of Demon Wings.
Jegal Cheong-a swallowed and studied the boy before her.
“My Hand Arts were cleanly countered by Eon Hwa-ryeon. She was a fine martial artist.”
The boy answered calmly. It had been some time since he had created the Sihwa Boundless Hand.
Because he had not achieved unity of essence, qi, and spirit, he had to endure the Black Uniform realm through a variety of martial arts. Eon Hwa-ryeon's techniques had shown him new avenues.
The Sihwa Boundless Hand could advance further. The Martial Alliance Assembly had accomplished what Desolate Fortress's Law Enforcement Squad could not.
He could not help sounding favorably inclined. Regardless of the First Fist of the Eon Family's words and conduct, she was worthy of recognition as a martial artist.
“A fine martial artist...”
Jegal Cheong-a gently bit her lower lip. It was an expression of emotion he had never seen from her before.
She had been born with extraordinary awareness, yet had lived a suppressed life beneath the Zhuge Family Head's oppression.
Even now, she was watching the Leader of Demon Wings for any sign of his thoughts. Her anxious mind kept circling one question. What would she do if he refused? Her other options were uncertain.
The boy, however, possessed aura sense that made reading expressions unnecessary. He narrowed his brow slightly.
“I told you not to repeat yourself. I also told you not to speak in vague circles. Tell me your business. This Squad Leader will decide.”
Jegal Cheong-a's eyelashes trembled. No one outside her family had ever spoken to her that way.
Was it because the Divine Technique qi containing spirituality had seeped into the boy's voice?
His plain words differed from those of her father, the Zhuge Family Head, yet her lips moved of their own accord.
“...I examined the corpses of those you defeated. It was on the Zhuge Family Head's orders. I closely calculated the sword paths from the trails left by sword wounds and traced the flow of force waves through marks crushed by your power. Eon Hwa-ryeon was given those countermeasures.”
“Corpses?”
“The corpse of Young Hero Namgung, the Clear Qilin, marked with wounds, is also here at the Assembly.”
The girl spoke quietly, though the words came with difficulty.
Jeong Yeon-shin's expression, which had darkened at the word corpses, vanished. He did not question her further.
In an instant, the upper dantian beneath his Baihui acupoint dissected Jegal Cheong-a's disposition in full.
Was she telling the truth? What intention lay beneath it? No, her true intent was unimportant. The intuition of his upper dantian accepted her words as truth.
Perhaps his Baihui acupoint had broadened further. The sensation came with a clarity as vivid as an ability possessed by the elven race.
Slowly.
The boy reflected on that unfamiliar feeling.
A sudden autumn wind turned cold. It seemed to curve down and pierce the crown of his head. The waves that had surged through his mind settled like a mirror-still lake.
His reason and heart seemed to move as one. Had he grown a little since his uncle lost his arm?
Or perhaps the turmoil in his heart, stirred by limbs that had noticeably grown of late, had heated his Baihui acupoint.
Jeong Yeon-shin had secured two justifications.
Before moving, he made certain of his reasons for acting. They had allowed the Heart Martial Union to plunder commoners. They had studied countermeasures through corpses.
Even if the Zhuge Family Head's reputation was lofty, those two matters were enough to depose him. The boy rationalized it.
The Leader of Demon Wings was not moving out of personal anger.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.
“I know your family's formations are laid everywhere. Lead the way.”
“Infiltration is impossible. There is no answer but to break through from the front.”
“Because of the formations as well?”
“Yes. If we don't enter according to the prescribed method, the guards will know. The same will happen if we break the sorcery formations and mechanism formations. It would be faster to follow the open road.”
The story of Jegal Cheon testing the Leader of Demon Wings with a formation, only to humiliate himself, was already well known.
Jegal Cheong-a had made her plan on the assumption that Seom-ye possessed a way to counter sorcery formations. Even so, martial strength that had reached a high realm was essential.
“My father and the Moyong Family Head are away. I don't know why, but they left the Assembly around this time even while the grand founding ceremony was underway. It has to be now. If we delay any longer, the Family Heads will return and stop us. We need to take the body and secure our justification. Only then can we act and remain safe afterward.”
Then Jegal Cheong-a, who had been whispering quickly, suddenly looked around.
“But where are the others? Young Hero Namgung, the White Qilin, and the Languid Flame Dragon would be a great help...”
“They went to receive the honored guests in my place while I prepare for the spar.”
“Ah, the Sichuan Tang Clan...”
Leaving Jegal Cheong-a's sigh behind, the boy started walking. He flung open the gate of Fragrant Rhyme Residence and strode over the threshold.
The girl hurried after him and took the lead. Jegal Cheong-a did not hand him a map of the Assembly.
To replace her father, who would be deposed for conduct that violated righteousness, she needed to expose the Family Head's corruption as a chivalrous martial artist.
Having mastered her eye technique, she had planned even what would come afterward. She trusted the character of the Leader of Demon Wings that she had seen in the wounds left upon the Clear Qilin.
They said people of the Central Plains enjoyed gambling. Jegal Cheong-a had that disposition too.
‘If I fail, I'll never see the light of day again.’
She would be used like a slave for her eye technique.
She had wagered her life on the Leader of Demon Wings. It was for herself and her brother.
As a martial artist of the orthodox sects, she wanted to live an upright life.
“This way.”
Jegal Cheong-a's fingertips touched Jeong Yeon-shin's wrist. Their skin met softly.
Then the girl gently clasped the Leader of Demon Wings' wrist with her fingers.
Feeling a clear gaze boring into the back of her neck, Jegal Cheong-a lowered her head slightly and explained.
“We need to draw people's attention. Even if we take the body from somewhere no one can see, it'll be useless if the Family Heads rush after us and bury the matter. If people think the Zhuge Family's daughter and the Leader of Demon Wings have fallen for one another... they'll follow us anywhere. There are more people than ever because of the grand founding ceremony. I'll certainly explain later.”
“Have you not trained in lightness skill? Just walk faster.”
It held no meaning whatsoever for Jeong Yeon-shin.
The same was true when they stepped onto the broad avenue lined with the Assembly's many halls. He did not care what gazes fell upon them.
The white sensation of his blazing upper dantian was eating away at his reason. The Clear Qilin had been a rival he would never have again in his lifetime.
It had dealt a grave wound to Jeong Yeon-shin's proud self-respect as a martial artist, together with his moral fury.
He had decided how to act. All that remained was to strike with his sword.
The crowd whispering among themselves and discreetly following behind was insignificant.
He was in no state to care how provocative a romance between peers at the highest level of the martial world might be.
Those dozens of people would have nothing to do but chew over idle rumors until Jeong Yeon-shin was past twenty.
The boy had eyes only for the martial artists of the Zhuge Family who had blocked his path.
They guarded the only open gate in the wall surrounding the cluster of halls like a fortress rampart.
The vast collection of buildings behind them testified to the family's prestige. Even the curves of the rooftops were as elegant as carved sculptures.
“Young Lady and Leader of Demon Wings, please stop here.”
There were five of them. They looked past Jeong Yeon-shin and Jegal Cheong-a's shoulders, seemingly placing their duty above their young mistress.
They appeared more concerned with the crowd gathered behind them. All wore blank expressions, except for the middle-aged man in green robes standing at the front. His square jaw was striking.
“This is an area used privately by our family. Setting aside how the two of you became so close, if you're out for a stroll, I recommend the lakeside west of the Assembly.”
His smiling face held both awkwardness and interest.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
“I heard you're desecrating Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin's corpse.”
“...”
“As a martial artist who inherits his sword intent, I must confirm it. Move.”
“Such an absurd thing, something I've never even heard of...”
The man spoke with an indifferent expression. Jeong Yeon-shin tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
He saw the man's expression collapse for an instant before it swiftly recovered. His suspicion deepened.
“A master who dominated the grand founding ceremony cannot truly act so unjustly. Are you serious?”
“Don't drag this out. I won't speak further.”
“What a fearsome jest. Don't be like this. This place may be called the heart of the Assembly. Even a Desolate Fortress Squad Leader will regret this.”
Despite his words, his tone was almost playful. His next words were the same.
“More importantly... I've trained in quick swordsmanship myself. Your spar with Cheon Ju-jin was deeply impressive, but rather than the destructive sword form you displayed at the end, the quick sword you used from the high guard stance caught my eye. A sword strike fit for constant use, yet swift as lightning. I've never seen such a sword form in my life. If it has a name, would you tell me?”
He was changing the subject.
His eyes contradicted his tone. Even as he continued speaking, he clearly adopted a hostile stance.
The other four behind him were the same, gripping their sword hilts. Rather than open the way, they seemed ready to fight.
―If you do not turn back, we will cut you down.
The martial artists of the family spoke through aura.
“Is the name of a sword form more important than this Squad Leader's business?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked with a smile. With his empty hand, he caught Jegal Cheong-a's sleeve and pulled her behind him.
The soft texture of silk brushed against his palm before slipping away.
The question from the man before him reminded him anew of the meaning of his new sword form.
The opening form of a sword art was usually a technique for measuring one's opponent.
The gaze of an intensely focused swordsman reached the point of judging the training an opponent had accumulated. Quick swordsmanship that had reached a high realm drove the opponent to the limit and forced them to reveal their worth.
There was a word for it: judgment.
It meant judging right and wrong, better and worse, and examining an opponent thoroughly.
At the same time, the intent held in the hand gripping the wooden sword at that moment honored one person alone.
Not even the cold autumn air could calm the veins standing out on the back of his hand.
The sword form's name was decided. It was what Seom-ye, the Leader of Demon Wings, would throw at the Martial Alliance Assembly.
The way you and I examine the dead is vastly different.
First Form.
“Judging the Qilin.”
The boy answered. The words slipped through his teeth.
Step.
Anger surged through his advancing footstep, and the force wave from Force Projection throughout his body rose more violently than ever before.
The guards reacted swiftly as well. They seemed to understand at once that there was no room for compromise.
“Do not let him through!”
“Do not yield the initiative!”
Their swords were drawn at speed. The five moved as though they were one.
The Zhuge Family Three Principles Five Elements Sword Formation. It was a formation secret art of combined attack. It was as though their momentum had combined into one.
Dust rose high beneath the charging men's feet. It swelled endlessly alongside invisible aura.
The young Leader of Demon Wings did not care. He had already raised the wooden sword over his head.
It was a lofty high guard stance reaching toward the sky.
His foot struck the ground.
Boom!
Cracks spread from his leather shoe like an earthquake.
A firm rebound rose from the sole of his foot.
Whoosh!
Force Projection strengthened by True Step sent violent vibrations through the wooden sword. His black robe began to snap fiercely.
The force from his entire body converged into a single sword path with terrifying speed. A gale settled upon the wooden sword he held straight overhead.
It happened in an instant. As the boy's eyes darkened, a brown sword strike from his right hand tore through the air and fell.
Craaaash!
It was as though a fire bomb had exploded. Amid force waves that swept out like a storm, the wooden sword scattered upward like dust.
The martial artists were flung in every direction as if struck by a compressed typhoon. They smashed through several walls before falling.
Though none had been struck directly by the sword path, not one of those sprawled on the ground could rise.
Only two or three with powerful Protective Qi Techniques gasped in shock.
The great wall began to collapse.
Rumble!
Thick dust rose with a sound like thunder. The vibration beneath their feet surged upward like rainwater flowing in reverse.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin walked on in silence, then glanced back at Jegal Cheong-a.
The girl's body jolted.
The Leader of Demon Wings' eyes gleamed black.
Veins stood out along the arm exposed beneath his sleeveless left side, an aftereffect of circulating his power.
They throbbed fiercely. The black sleeve covering his right arm stood in stark contrast to the bare left.
It was living, breathing power from the realm of strategic weapons in a sect war.
“Keep walking,” the boy said.
Footnotes:
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