WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 215: Flash (2)
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Ju Yeon-jeong had gone too far in the way she conducted herself.
Once Ma Jin’s management of the household ended, it would have been Ma Se-in’s turn. That would also have been Ju Yeon-jeong’s turn.
The position of the Family Head’s mother awaited her. Combined with her imperial bloodline, it would have given her tremendous authority.
In twenty or thirty years, it would have come to pass.
She could not wait.
Her heart had grown impatient. Ma Yeon-jeok’s condition had shown signs of improvement, and she wanted to prevent the Supreme Family Head from lending his strength to the current Family Head.
Though she belonged to a collateral branch, she was imperial kin. Control over power and relationships was everything to her.
She thought deeply, yet acted shallowly. That was Ju Yeon-jeong’s nature.
She could not bear being deprived or pushed aside. She had lived as imperial kin in a world where human status was sharply divided.
Though she had lived suppressed as a member of a collateral branch, she had also been freer than those of the direct line. She was far from the imperial throne.
The glory before her eyes mattered most. It was the same in Desolate Fortress.
Until she encountered the unforeseen variable called Seom-ye and paid the price for her deeds.
“Are there many members of the Ju clan?”
Even as she coughed up blood, Ju Yeon-jeong showed her anger.
The power she had accumulated as a master of the Golden Immortal Eight Methods was scattering away, yet she reacted not to the loss of her martial arts but to words that had wounded her prestige.
Twisted wrinkles formed between her brows and around her mouth.
“How dare you casually speak the imperial clan’s surname...!”
“I will not listen to you any longer.”
Ma Yeon-jeok spoke briefly.
Wooooong!
An invisible ripple rose from the index finger he pointed at Ju Yeon-jeong.
This time, he made his move visibly. Perhaps because this punishment was meant to deny her even the chance to rise again as a martial artist.
It was as if a transparent current surged from his fingertip.
It struck Ju Yeon-jeong directly in the pit of her stomach. Several drops of blood running from her chin warped beneath the heavy shockwave.
Boom!
The Tyrant Hero attacked without hesitation.
He had said that after the lower dantian came the middle dantian. Just as he had warned with his gesture, a colorless force wave shot from his finger and burrowed into Ju Yeon-jeong’s pit of the stomach.
It went straight for the Yutang acupoint in her middle dantian. An internal heavy-hand technique that shook the body from within had been layered over a technique that sent a strike through empty space.
It was a terrifying attack. Superior techniques had blended together naturally. Ju Yeon-jeong could neither dodge nor resist it.
“Guhk!”
She vomited blood. Her cough was violent, even worse than when her lower dantian had been destroyed.
Naturally. The center of the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, one of the twelve regular meridians, had been torn apart.
The strike had been focused entirely on thoroughly destroying her middle dantian, but the carotid artery was close by. The pressure of her blood flow would surge sharply.
She could only retch as though she might stop breathing at any moment, accompanied by terrible pain.
Ma Yeon-jeok clenched one fist with his bony fingers.
“As you said, you are imperial kin. Be grateful for your bloodline. I will not kill you. But...”
Then a voice that seemed to blaze poured from his mouth.
“From this moment onward, I shall confine Ma Se-in’s mother. She will no longer be given room to interfere in the affairs of this main family. Lock her in the family’s thunder prison. Give her only two meals a day, breakfast and lunch. Leave out dinner. Let her end every day in complete regret. It will be pain that pierces her heart and lingers through the years. I will make this a law of the main family, so that even if Ma Se-in sits in the Family Head’s seat, he cannot interfere.”
It was the end.
Ju Yeon-jeong’s life as a martial artist was over. Weak aura leaked from her bent body. Her inner energy was dispersing.
The power she had built through the imperial martial art, the Golden Immortal Eight Methods, was settling into the air.
Because she had built up qi storage with spiritual medicine, it was released in a dense cloud. The plants at her feet turned opaque for a time.
Only then did Ju Yeon-jeong’s face fill with shock.
A sudden sense of reality seeped into her skin beneath the early winter moonlight. Pain like torture came with the chill.
The one who had looked down on everyone had lost everything to an even prouder absolute being. She had been utterly crushed and dismantled piece by piece.
“...”
Her eyes lost focus.
It was as if her soul had flown away. She could never rise again. Imperial kin Ju Yeon-jeong fell into the abyss alongside martial artist Ju Yeon-jeong.
The process had been so natural that it was all the more hollow. She had been caught in a grip from which there was no escape.
The Tyrant Hero in his prime had been regarded as a god among the common people. He would be regarded that way again.
“And.”
The former Divine Sword Squad Leader did not stop speaking.
He first took in the sight of his maternal grandson, the master of Demon Wings, standing silently.
Then the Tyrant Hero’s eyes swept over the experts of the Desolate Ma family.
Twenty family retainers lay prostrate with their foreheads against the ground, while more than ten martial artists stood awkwardly around Ju Yeon-jeong.
Ma Yeon-jeok’s lips twisted.
“You disloyal wretches. Should you not pay the price as well? You lowlifes know full well what sins you have committed, do you not?”
His face was smooth and free of wrinkles as he asked in an extremely old-fashioned manner.
The old man’s tone did not seem strange coming from his youthful face. Such was the mystery of the martial world. Power filled the question, which did not seek an answer.
The aura that rose again could only be called tyrannical power. It was inner energy that truly spoke of supremacy.
Each word he spoke distorted the air around him, and dust rose from beneath the ground.
“...I have no excuse.”
Ma Jin-un, a martial artist in green martial robes, turned toward Ma Yeon-jeok and knelt.
He had maintained his posture even as the Supreme Family Head passed him and walked toward Ju Yeon-jeong.
So he paid his respects once more. The way he neatly placed both hands on his knees carried the dignity of an expert from a distinguished family.
He briefly turned his head and silently bowed to Jeong Yeon-shin.
Then he looked up at Ma Yeon-jeok.
“I have witnessed the Leader of Demon Wings’s grace in full. You are right to call him our benefactor. We committed a sin by coveting the Golden Immortal Eight Methods, and today we have seen the Supreme Family Head restored to full health. Only after conducting ourselves wrongly did we realize that the Golden Immortal Eight Methods are martial arts from outside this family. It was foolish and base. We will willingly accept our punishment.”
“Destroy both your lower and middle dantians.”
Ma Yeon-jeok gave the order.
The experts of a major faction were eccentrics who had devoted their lives to martial arts. The pleasure of lightening one’s body and building superhuman strength surpassed even that of opium poppies.
It meant a punishment worse than death.
That was the command that left the Tyrant Hero’s lips so casually. It was the same as cutting off the path of seekers.
As the martial artists around Ju Yeon-jeong flinched, the Ma family experts who had raised their heads lowered them calmly.
They had seen the family’s long-held wish come true. That was enough.
Ma Jin-un asked, “Should we sever the tendons and meridians in all four limbs as well?”
“What a question befitting a petty, foolish wretch. Do you insignificant things dare expect the servants of this main family to labor for you? Live while fully feeling your loss of strength. You should not have touched my grandson.”
The Tyrant Hero muttered as if chewing the words.
His grandson’s safety had been threatened. At this moment, he was both the former Divine Sword Squad Leader and the grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok.
Though he knew of the threats closing in on Desolate Fortress as the world entered troubled times, he accepted a reduction in strength.
Rewards and punishments had to be strict to establish discipline.
Those who had nearly become his grandson’s enemies had to be punished.
The two intentions came together. No one could stop him.
The Tyrant Hero, Ma Yeon-jeok, had returned. Other than the Lord of Desolate Fortress, the Elder Council Head, and the current Divine Sword Squad Leader, it would be difficult for anyone even to pretend to restrain him.
“Carry it out.”
Ma Yeon-jeok spoke.
The command was brief, and the response immediate.
“Hup!”
“Ugh!”
Twenty people began vomiting blood. They had made their own qi flow in reverse.
Their dantians were torn to pieces amid violently surging aura. It was the bearing of a prestigious martial family that cultivated domineering martial arts.
They had received an order from the Supreme Family Head, now fully returned. They did not hesitate to destroy themselves as martial artists.
A scene from hell unfolded.
The grass in the garden was stained with blood. One after another, people staggered, unable to remain upright.
A young man among those kneeling and bowing trembled.
He was Ma Ung, a White Uniform martial artist who had been subdued by Cheong Myeong while standing guard. He had prepared himself, but he was afraid.
‘Now, now, I have to destroy my dantian...’
Then his eyes suddenly met someone else’s.
The honored Leader of Demon Wings was looking down at him quietly.
* * *
Mount Zhongnan was one of the birthplaces of Daoism.
Its blue mountain ranges ran in winding layers. They divided the north and south of Shaanxi.
Daoist temples and Buddhist monasteries stood along the gently stretching ridges. Their halls added clear spiritual energy to the mountain’s aura.
Not now.
Thick smoke rose from all over the ridges, accompanied by a dark red wildfire.
The inferno burned fiercely, pouring out an orange glow.
The broad wildfire surged high and did not subside for a long time, proving that something extraordinary had happened.
“Your intentions... are paltry.”
He was a handsome man. Blade-sharp pointed ears stood out.
Blood seeped from his yellow long robe, torn in several places. He sat amid fragments of broken roof tiles.
Goyang Shin, the Seocheon Sword Lord.
He was the sect leader of the Zhongnan Sect, a supreme master incongruous with the sword lying sprawled at his side.
“You overlooked the fact that I, too, am half of the elven race. You had been watching the aura of this mountain closely.”
He spoke while looking up at the man standing with his back to the flames.
The shadow covering Goyang Shin’s face swayed enormously.
It danced with the wildfire in an eerie manner. It was like an impossibly powerful being reveling in the moment.
Goyang Shin’s sword strikes had covered his entire body in blood, yet the man’s balance remained astonishingly steady.
Goyang Shin, the Seocheon Sword Lord, was the sect leader of one of the Nine Sects. No supreme master could defeat him so one-sidedly.
It had been the same this time. Victory and defeat had been decided by a single strike in an instant.
“Did you not strike immediately after my martial uncle ascended? Are you not ashamed as the head of a sect? You truly are the leader of a Demonic Sect, even with such an enlightened sword art.”
Goyang Shin asked in a fading voice.
Instead of an answer, a faint laugh came out. The one casting the shadow had snickered.
It sounded as though it rose from the bottom of a cave. The voice was immensely deep.
“Sword Immortal of Zhongnan.”
The Tyrant Sword Sect Master remembered the old man called the Sword Immortal.
“I know that it was not ascension as an immortal.”
He spoke.
The Sword Immortal of Zhongnan had not attained the Dao and achieved ascension as an immortal.
The energy descending from the heavens had been too powerful, and he had died. His upper dantian had been unable to withstand the strength between heaven and earth.
What had a man of deep cultivation desired to become like that?
He had tried to learn the circumstances, but not a single disciple of the Zhongnan Sect opened their mouth.
It was both laughable and regrettable. The Tyrant Sword Sect Master gave it brief thought as he prepared to cut off Goyang Shin’s head.
Goyang Shin’s lips trembled.
“The lineage of this sect will continue. You can destroy Zhongnan’s mountain gate and ruin its plaque. But you cannot do anything to the pure essence of Mount Zhongnan. That is your limit.”
“You speak of the Zhongnan disciples you sent away. I know. That is why I ordered two of them brought here.”
The face shaded by the mountain’s shadow moved its lips.
“Sword Dragon Weiji Myo-hwa. Jeong Hye, the Sword Immortal’s direct disciple. They may bring trouble upon my Tyrant Sword Sect in time. They say the girl whom the Sword Immortal cherished in his final years is related by blood to the current Leader of Demon Wings. You wish for Desolate Fortress to intervene.”
“...!”
“Your sword art was magnificent. Die now.”
The Tyrant Sword Sect Master moved the hand gripping his sword hilt.
Whoosh.
The massive greatsword sank into the fire-like shadow.
* * *
Jeong Yeon-shin headed for Demon Wings’ residence, accompanied by his subordinates, all of whom were his seniors.
“The main fortress will be in an uproar.”
“Squad Leader, were you skilled in medicine?”
“That’s not it. Haven’t you watched him train the Jeong Family Youth Technique for a day or two? His internal cultivation must have been incredible from the beginning.”
“The Tyrant Hero underwent Rejuvenation... I was so shocked I couldn’t move.”
“Will things ease up a little?”
“Do not take it lightly. The Central Plains are vast, and there are only two Purple Uniform martial artists now.”
“We do not know how the imperial court will respond.”
Nothing they said among themselves was wrong.
Jeong Yeon-shin silently agreed.
What his maternal grandfather had done was no small matter. Ju Yeon-jeong might have belonged to a collateral branch, but she was still imperial kin in every sense.
Even if Ma Yeon-jeok had imposed a punishment justified by the circumstances, there was still much to discuss with the imperial court.
Ju was a venerable surname.
The Ming Dynasty was an empire. It valued the imperial family’s dignity above all else.
Ju Yeon-jeong, who had married into Desolate Fortress, must have been under the imperial court’s watch.
They would not be able to punish Ma Yeon-jeok, who had regained his youth.
Still, they might try to use this matter somehow. That was why Ma Yeon-jeok wanted to keep his grandson out of the messy political struggle.
He had said it while proposing that they launch a boat later and drink tea together.
“I will find a way to lend you strength. This old man will use every means to clothe you in Purple Uniform. But before that... I am truly ashamed. This foolish grandfather failed to properly govern his family retainers.”
“You are unharmed. That is enough.”
“Yeon-shin, may I hold you once?”
“No.”
Jeong Yeon-shin recalled his blunt answer. He had said it reflexively. There had been too many eyes around.
He could picture his grandfather’s embarrassed face after he lost his lion-like bearing.
‘He’ll live a long life without illness.’
Warmth filled his heart. It remained there even when the two unranked disciples guarding the gates of Demon Wings’ residence threw them open.
“Squad Leader, people from the Blood Guard Squad have arrived.”
Baek Sun-uk, a burly seventeen-year-old unranked disciple, spoke.
He was a subordinate of steadfast character who devoted himself to training in the Sihwa Boundless Fist.
“The Blood Guard Squad?”
The moment Jeong Yeon-shin asked, the gates opened.
The visitors Baek Sun-uk mentioned came straight toward him. They were a man and woman dressed in Blue Uniform long robes.
How long had they been standing there? They seemed to have waited without entering the inner residence.
“I am Na Il-cheon of the Blood Guard Squad.”
“I am Pung-ran.”
They resembled Jin Myeong-jo, the Blood Guard Squad Leader. Both had pale complexions to the point of looking sickly, and their faces were strikingly slender as well.
Even their posture as they offered a fist salute was gentle.
They possessed a unique aura and the status of Blue Uniform martial artists.
At a glance, both were exceptional figures.
Pung-ran, the woman with a thinly curved saber strapped to her back, spoke.
“By order of the Blood Guard Squad Leader, we have been transferred to Demon Wings. He also sent a message.”
She handed over a letter with both hands. It was wrapped in white silk and rolled up.
The letter had been sealed with great care, and its folds were as sharp as a blade. It seemed almost reverent.
“What?”
Jeong Yeon-shin was bewildered.
Then another event immediately followed, coming from far away.
“Is the owner of the Comprehensive Guide to Breaking the Orthodox Sects in his residence?!”
A deep shout burst forth. Like a lion’s roar, it shook all directions.
The voice was so explosive that it was impossible to gauge the extent of its qi storage. The inner energy in it shook the gate’s metal rings.
It was Xiahou Wi-jin’s voice.
The powerful aura unique to Desolate Fortress Squad Leaders pressed in. Even before they arrived, the current pushing through the air burned like fire.
It was truly an overwhelming presence.
There was more than one of them.
Footnotes:
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