WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 214: Flash
──────
Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok.
He was an unparalleled master who had once symbolized Desolate Fortress.
With the Harmonizing Splendor Divine Sword of the Desolate Ma family, he had held his own against the Taiji Wisdom Sword of the previous Wudang Sect leader.
The aged Wudang swordsman, once called the greatest sword under heaven, had been the first to mention resting. Ma Yeon-jeok had been thirty-seven at the time.
His gaunt appearance did not matter. A few months of recuperation would change his body beyond recognition anyway. The problem was that he had grown younger.
“Did he not speak the Supreme Family Head’s name?”
“Is this not an insult as well?”
“But those clothes are clearly...”
Profound confusion filled the Ma family experts’ faces.
Anyone would have felt the same. It was not something they could easily accept.
Even in Desolate Fortress, which held more supreme masters than any other martial sect, only Ak Su-rim had received heaven’s favor.
It was common knowledge, but not something people were accustomed to seeing.
No one present had ever seen Ma Yeon-jeok in his youth.
Yet at that moment, they felt wind laden with terrifying power.
Invisible strands swept over their skin like sword blades. It was an aura that compelled them to understand.
He did not even seem aware of it. It simply spread with solemn force.
Hummm.
The aftereffects of his inner power filled the air. They surged outward in a grand, unimpeded resonance, like a dragon’s breath.
Though he held no sword, his body produced sword resonance. He had reached a realm where his entire body was a sword.
A Purple Uniform master who discussed the world with the heads of major factions.
His very existence was one of the martial world’s mysteries.
“This...!”
Ju Yeon-jeong’s lips trembled. For a time, she could not speak.
After Jeong Yeon-shin ordered the fighting to stop, the presences in the garden gradually faded. Silence now settled over the area.
The Desolate Ma family and Demon Wings experts all turned toward the same place.
He had called himself the Tyrant Hero. He had named himself Ma Yeon-jeok.
A man in sleepwear stood at the center of the battlefield.
Long pink sleeves hung from his arms. The silk pajamas, fit for a person of high standing, created a strange impression.
Yet his bearing was as imposing as if he wore martial robes or armor.
The man spoke again.
“This old man is your elder, you worthless things.”
Qi carried on his young voice weighed down the air. It was as though he had unleashed seething power.
His face looked to be in his thirties. Not a wrinkle marked it.
His slightly upturned eyes resembled those of Seom-ye, the Leader of Demon Wings standing beside him. They carried a stubborn yet lonely air.
He was a handsome man with strong, distinct features.
Since appearing, he had kept one hand on the Leader of Demon Wings’ shoulder, showing no sign of removing it.
No one could laugh. It was not a comical sight.
His presence would not allow it. The aura surrounding his body drew terrifying ripples through the air.
It flowed around his black hair and brows, over his wrinkle-free skin.
The current spread as clearly as the waters of the Yangtze River.
“What...?”
Ju Yeon-jeong, who had been holding her breath, let out a groan.
The hand she had raised as though to cover her mouth stopped in midair, trembling as if seized by palsy.
She faced something beyond all common sense. That was all she could do. Nor could she immediately deny it.
The man was proving himself through his aura. It was as though he were declaring, I am a Purple Uniform of Desolate Fortress.
A moment of silence passed.
“What are you doing?”
The eyes of the man in sleepwear sharpened.
Beyond the mystique of an unparalleled master, he possessed a distinctly worldly side. It showed in the way he looked over the members of the Desolate Ma family.
The expression on his face was cold enough to make them shiver. He felt like iron.
Then a rebuke burst from his mouth.
“Get on your knees and pay your respects! To your benefactor and this old man!”
It was a roar like fire. His voice clawed through the air and swiftly became an echo.
The shrubs beneath his feet bent of their own accord. His shout resembled a lion’s roar.
More than a dozen experts flinched as though hundreds of hooks had torn at their ears.
Whoosh!
Dust rose into the air.
It warped into irregular waves upon meeting his overwhelming aura. It was the tyrannical qi structure unique to the Harmonizing Splendor Divine Art.
It felt as though a brand had been pressed into the skin of everyone present. It was intense and deep.
No one here possessed such a presence. Once more, he proved himself.
Soon after, a middle-aged man dressed in splendid green martial robes spoke.
“Supreme Family Head, is it truly...?”
He was one of the Desolate Ma family’s middle-ranking martial artists.
The fingertips of his black-gauntleted hand trembled slightly. It did not suit a master of the Harmonizing Splendor Fist Art.
A crease formed on Ma Yeon-jeok’s smooth brow.
“Ma Jin-un, you have lost all fear. Shall I wash those foolish eyes of yours three times? I have already told you twice. If this old man must say it once more, I will surely teach you a lesson.”
A warning like a lion’s growl came through his tightly drawn lips.
Ma Jin-un’s shoulders twitched.
No one else could speak to an expert of the Desolate Ma family in such a manner. His speech and conduct were no different from those of the old master Ma Yeon-jeok.
A strange relief appeared on Jeong Yeon-shin’s face. At the same time, more than twenty Ma family martial artists rushed forward as though thunderclap bombs had been placed beneath their feet.
“You lot...?”
“You still cannot restrain yourselves!”
The Demon Wings experts were about to strike on reflex.
Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head, and the Blue Uniform experts’ auras vanished. Their hands, which had been gathering tyrannical force, also stopped.
They had reacted instantly to their Squad Leader.
The Desolate Ma family experts rushed past them and kicked off the ground again.
Whoosh!
They were not taking an offensive stance. As they fell to their knees, they dispelled the recoil from their incredibly swift Body Movement Scripture.
Then they immediately struck their heads against the ground. A dull sound rang out as yellow dust rose thickly around their foreheads.
“This unworthy Ma Jin-un was too foolish to recognize the Supreme Family Head!”
“I respectfully pay my respects to the Tyrant Hero!”
Voices filled with all kinds of emotions rang out as one. Their united prostration and greeting carried strict discipline.
Yet their expressions told the opposite story. They were filled with shock and confusion.
Unable to hide looks anyone could recognize, they lifted their heads toward their old master.
They had witnessed something nearly impossible.
The Supreme Family Head Ma Yeon-jeok’s body had been refined by peerless inner power.
He had turned back the body’s time. Like the Desolate Divine Spear and the few chosen supreme masters, he had defeated the years with a human body.
It was enough to shake the martial world.
It was a miracle.
Who had made it possible?
“...”
The Desolate Ma family experts’ gazes shifted to the person beside the Supreme Family Head.
The Leader of Demon Wings stood there.
As twilight deepened, light streamed from the moon halo.
It settled over Jeong Yeon-shin’s face like translucent silk gauze. Deep shadows lay beneath his thick lashes.
A brilliant light lingered within his deep, pitch-black eyes. Moonlight also rested beautifully on the bridge of his high nose.
He truly was a Squad Leader of Desolate Fortress.
He was shrouded in mystique befitting his lofty status, together with the faint moonlight.
His accomplishments were much the same. He had brought about something close to a miracle. It reminded them anew of his appearance, exceptional even compared to the elven race.
He inspired both acceptance and doubt.
Reverence appeared in the prestigious family experts’ eyes, along with questions they had no way to resolve. Setting aside the boldness of giving his grandfather an entire Great Revitalization Pill, what kind of cultivation did he possess?
For the martial artists of the Desolate Ma family, decline was destiny.
They looked down on sects outside Desolate Fortress, yet envied the orthodox martial lineages of the Nine Sects.
The monks and Daoists of the Nine Great Sects did not wither. Instead, they grew stronger with time.
They were unlike the Ma family martial artists, who rapidly grew strong and then declined like expendable soldiers.
‘They said there was a youth technique that had refined the Leader of Demon Wings in childhood.’
‘Did it truly exist?!’
‘The current Family Head had stubbornly refused to announce it...’
Yet no one dared ask.
They were no different from underworld servants awaiting King Yama’s judgment.
After bowing to the Supreme Family Head, they lowered their heads to the Leader of Demon Wings as well. Again and again, deeply, accompanied by scattered apologies.
“...We greet the benefactor of our family.”
“We can only be grateful for the cultivation you bestowed.”
“The Leader of Demon Wings has shown us immeasurable grace...!”
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.
They had no value to him now. Rather, they only made him keenly realize that he had restored his grandfather.
Only after feeling that relief anew did another realization come to him.
This was merit. Enormous merit.
The Divine Sword Squad Leader, the Elder Council Head, and the previous Divine Sword Squad Leader.
All of them wore Purple Uniforms. Each had their own duties.
The World Tree fruit was a treasure personally guarded by the Lord of Desolate Fortress.
It was a clan treasure revered by every member of the elven race in the Central Plains. They said there was only one in the entire world.
Just as one accumulated merit before advancing to the next color of martial robes, he could not receive the fruit immediately merely because he had completed one mission befitting his rank.
The reward system would become a mess.
‘He said every member of the elven race under heaven must accept it.’
To receive an entire fruit rather than a fragment, he would need to undertake Purple Uniform expeditions through the martial world many times.
He knew. It was fine.
‘I have already completed two of them.’
The Comprehensive Guide to Breaking the Orthodox Sects. His grandfather’s Rejuvenation.
He had completed them in Black Uniform, yet had taken two great steps toward the fruit.
It was as though he had added several thick layers to the merit he needed to accumulate before receiving the World Tree fruit as a Purple Uniform. He had gained an enormous amount of time.
It was truly time for martial achievement to become important.
‘I should request a spar from the Blood Guard Squad Leader... No, I should finish what is in front of me first.’
Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head inwardly.
As he dismissed the thought, he looked down at the Desolate Ma family martial artists.
More than twenty bowed heads entered his view. They remained prostrated.
“...”
He could guess why they had caused this commotion. He did not know whether they had shared Ju Yeon-jeong’s intentions.
Still, they had acted together. Something truly could have gone wrong. If Ma Yeon-jeok had circulated qi through a Static Training less stable than the Jeong Family Youth Technique, it would have.
‘They were worried about Grandfather’s body?’
It was a plausible excuse.
Their reasoning was sound. The knowledge of an inner-energy master and that of a physician were different.
A physician’s learning would have been more suited to examining Ma Yeon-jeok than ordinary knowledge of internal energy cultivation.
Ju Yeon-jeong was meticulous. She had made that clear from the beginning. Jeong Yeon-shin had heard her cries often enough.
Yet anyone could read the meaning between the lines.
The commotion had been excessive.
The aura released by the Desolate Ma family side had been tumultuous. The ripples sweeping through the hall and garden had resonated with unusual force.
Jeong Yeon-shin sensed obvious malice. It was as though they were asking whether he could continue circulating qi even through this.
It was blatant and insidious. The kind of scheme that belonged in the Forbidden City.
Everyone would know.
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced to the side.
If Ma Yeon-jeok’s treatment of them and Ju Yeon-jeong proved insufficient, he intended to set aside his grandfather’s dignity for a moment and act as a main fortress Squad Leader.
Whether it was the Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art or Sihwa Boundless Hand, either would do. They had tried to harm Desolate Fortress’s Black Uniform and Purple Uniform. Ordinary punishment would not be enough.
Then,
“You foolish, disloyal wretches.”
Ma Yeon-jeok spoke through clenched teeth.
Step.
His pink trouser leg moved forward as he slowly removed his hand from his grandson’s shoulder.
The aura that had spread from the young old man’s body vanished all at once. That made him even more frightening.
He had completely drawn in the overflowing inner power of Rejuvenation. It was like compressing a flame.
His seasoned eyes flashed with blue flame. Some martial artists who saw that gaze for the first time flinched.
Ma Yeon-jeok did not care. He had seen through the entire course of events.
“How dare you.”
He muttered the words briefly. The heart that had relaxed as though roaming the heavens was once more stained with anger.
The contrast between inside and outside the hall was stark.
Earlier, he had sensed his daughter through his grandson’s Divine Technique.
The Jeong Family Youth Technique was an ultimate art with a pitiful mnemonic formula. It held only the image of the young Grandmaster’s mother, Ma Yeon-sang, Ma Yeon-jeok’s daughter.
He had met his daughter’s image.
It had been terribly warm. It transformed into the energy of the Great Revitalization Pill and filled his entire body.
He would never forget the sensation of it traveling through every minor meridian and acupoint in his body. It was a sorrowful comfort.
And so, time had been turned back by his grandson’s hand. Back to the day when he first held his newborn daughter and wrapped her in a purple long robe.
He could not help but recover his prime. As though it were only natural, he reached Rejuvenation.
He raised his gaze and looked ahead.
Ju Yeon-jeong stood with a proud bearing. She held herself straighter than anyone else.
Had she already recovered from her panic? She merely clasped her hands before Ma Yeon-jeok.
“Congratulations on your great success.”
She was of the imperial clan. Those of the Forbidden City’s bloodline did not kneel.
Ma Yeon-jeok’s expression vanished. With a face resembling his grandson’s, he slowly began walking.
Step.
That first step set him in motion. Then he began striding forward.
He was heading straight for Ju Yeon-jeong, yet even the martial artists she had brought from her natal family did not dare stand in his way.
They merely flinched and hesitated.
“I know why you are angry,” Ju Yeon-jeong said evenly.
“It is a misunderstanding. Supreme Family Head, please remain calm.”
She did not lose her dignity. Her face was elegant, and her bearing remained composed.
“You dare tell me to remain calm? After plotting to harm my grandson?”
Ma Yeon-jeok did not stop walking. The shrubs crushed beneath his feet crumbled into nothing.
It happened even though no aura rose from him now. His completely refined divine might manifested as naturally as the power of gods and demons.
Ju Yeon-jeong moved her lips a little faster.
“Please consider the circumstances and show understanding. Everything was done out of concern for the Supreme Family Head’s safety...”
“If your scheme had only brought harm upon this body, that would have been enough. But you tried to touch this old man’s treasure. I will repay you in greater measure. You should prepare yourself. Here and now.”
Step.
The six-foot-tall Ma Yeon-jeok stopped before Ju Yeon-jeong.
Then he lowered only his gaze and looked down at her. Blue light repeatedly flashed in his eyes.
At last, Ju Yeon-jeong’s brows rose. Coldness began to seep from her lips.
“Do not do something you will regret. I no longer intend to let this pass gently. Remember the dignity of the Zhu bloodline, and remember that Desolate Fortress is the imperial family’s sword. The Supreme Family Head’s position is no different.”
It was a reasonable threat.
The Ming imperial family invested great effort into preserving the imperial clan’s dignity.
It was why they had publicly denied and severed their connection to Desolate Fortress. Ju Yeon-jeong continued calmly.
“If you harm me, the imperial family will naturally respond in kind...”
Suddenly,
Thud!
“Urk!”
Ju Yeon-jeong’s waist bent in an instant. At the same time, a heavy shockwave spread from the lower dantian in her abdomen. It was an immensely powerful impact.
It was as though her dantian had shattered at once. Blood poured from her mouth. Anyone could see that she had vomited blood against her will.
No one saw Ma Yeon-jeok make a move.
He simply remained standing as he had been, looking down at Ju Yeon-jeong.
“Haaah...!”
Ju Yeon-jeong gasped amid the blood and jerked her head up. The bewilderment in her eyes was unmistakable. She looked unable to believe it.
“Now, the sword... has struck its master’s bloodline...!”
“There are many people with the Zhu surname under heaven.”
Seom-ye’s grandfather calmly spoke.
“But there is only one Ma Yeon-jeok.”
The young old man’s fingertip pointed toward Ju Yeon-jeong’s solar plexus.
It was where the middle dantian was located.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
