WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 235: Treasured Sword (8)
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It was a low murmur, quiet enough to sound like someone talking to themselves.
It did not sound that way to supreme masters. They possessed Sensory Training beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
The new Leader of Demon Wings was no exception. As Divine Blood Extreme Demon’s Black Uniform junior, he would surely have heard it.
And he had.
“My apologies, Senior Jin.”
Qi rode the calm voice, making it hum. Jin Myeong-jo’s pale face turned even whiter.
It felt as though the junior standing far away were speaking directly beside his ear. The voice was perfectly clear.
Take it a step further, and it would become the rarely seen Six Directions Voice Transmission, a realm where a voice amplified by martial power rang through all eight directions.
Qi that was merely pure would not suffice. It proved the depth of his inner cultivation. Separate from the amount of qi storage, his attainment in his cultivation method was immense.
Jin Myeong-jo’s lips twitched.
‘Tch...’
An inner-energy aura flowed from the voice, brimming with dharma power.
The new Leader of Demon Wings stood with the faint dawn at his back. Each step he took in his loosely draped cloak sent invisible ripples spreading outward.
It was qi that only Jin Myeong-jo could feel as though he could grasp it.
‘Damn it.’
Whoosh.
He hastily drew in a breath. He needed to reinforce his body with his cultivation method. The aura’s rejection was overwhelming.
By the time his breath had passed coldly through his airways several times, a black figure descended before him. It was the Leader of Demon Wings, long robes fluttering behind him.
His footing was natural. His attainment in the Body Movement Scripture, with movements resembling those of the elven race, was improving. His cultivation seemed deeper than when he had left the main fortress.
‘What a monster.’
Jin Myeong-jo thought as he tensed his eyes. Even before facing the new Leader of Demon Wings, he had carefully arranged his expression.
It was a cultivated look, one that gave him the bearing of a mysterious yet steadfast senior. A temperament befitting the noble martial power he possessed.
He tipped his head slightly, as though one person of rank were greeting another.
“The Tyrant Sword Sect Master is staying in Linzhao Prefecture.”
He spoke before his junior could draw any closer. It was a rather exquisite move on his part.
His junior, Seom-ye, narrowed his eyes. Jin Myeong-jo flinched inwardly, but soon realized that Seom-ye’s attention had shifted to the Tyrant Sword Sect Master.
The brief relief was immense. Inwardly, he rubbed his chest.
Then the Leader of Demon Wings spoke.
“Linzhao Prefecture. At the western edge of Shaanxi.”
“It is where the Tyrant Sword Sect’s main branch is located. There are rumors that the Tyrant Sword Sect Master entered closed-door cultivation. No one has seen the Sect Master walk out from beneath the signboard, but judging by the aura, it must be true. The rumors that the Sect Master is mad for the sword are correct.”
Jin Myeong-jo spoke in an even tone.
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded.
“You have worked hard traveling back and forth. And you are entrusted with the most dangerous task...”
Jin Myeong-jo had been assigned to directly observe a lord of the Thirteen Heavens. Only the Blood Guard Squad Leader, with yin qi cultivated to its limits, could even approach. It was the most dangerous scouting assignment.
The art of concealing one’s martial power within the domain of peerless masters worthy of Purple Uniform was completely different from hiding one’s aura before lesser fighters.
It was an assignment Jeong Yeon-shin, who had not yet achieved Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, would find difficult to carry out.
“You are saying something presumptuous.”
Divine Blood Extreme Demon, Senior Jin, raised one corner of his mouth. It was a somewhat chilly smile.
“Regardless of your outstanding ability, you must understand this. What difference in weight could there be between a Squad Leader’s duties? The Leader of Demon Wings’ work and the Blood Guard Squad Leader’s work are equal. Your concern for me is my shame. Remember that.”
“...”
Jeong Yeon-shin raised his eyebrows.
Even the slight dip of his senior’s chin seemed like a meaningful gesture.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes widened slightly. There was no senior like this among the people of Wonpyeong One Sword Hall. He was deeply moved.
His words and actions were those of someone who faithfully carried out his duty while encouraging a junior. His lofty bearing was exceptionally admirable.
Thinking that he ought to emulate him, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
“There have been no major developments on my side either. I struck one regional unorthodox sect stronghold, but there was no immediate retaliation. They were unlike black-path thugs. They said we would settle it in three days... They were extremely cautious.”
Jeong Yeon-shin finished calmly.
They were catching each other up on their situations. The spiritual beasts gifted by the imperial court were busy traveling between the Blood Guard Squad, Demon Wings, and Desolate Fortress’s main fortress.
For Squad Leaders proficient in the Body Movement Scripture, meeting in person was better.
“Cautious? Of course they are, if they have eyes.”
“Pardon?”
“It is nothing.”
It remained difficult to read what Blood Guard Squad Leader Senior Jin was thinking. Perhaps his blood was made of iron.
‘He says things I don’t understand sometimes.’
Jeong Yeon-shin soon put the thought aside.
“The Demonic Sect factions in Xi’an were as the main fortress’s intelligence stated. The Sungyeo Branch, Sobaek Sect, Chamjeol Pavilion, Great Spirit Might Shaking Sect, Sword Demon Sect, Jongcheon Saber Sect, the Hwigwol Family...”
Jeong Yeon-shin shared the situation in Shaanxi with Jin Myeong-jo. They spoke only of the essentials. It was an age where travel was slow.
There were not many sources of information. After spiritual beasts, the lightness skills of supreme masters were the fastest means of exchanging intelligence.
This mission.
Jeong Yeon-shin had raced for ten days from Huguang and struck directly at the heart of the matter.
He had come knowing that the Sungyeo Branch was a sect under Yeoryeong. Yeoryeong of the Thirteen Heavens was known among the major unorthodox factions for its intelligence network and cunning schemes.
If he wanted to learn Jeong Hye’s whereabouts, this was the closest place to begin.
Using the authority granted to a Squad Leader, he had changed the priority of his mission.
He postponed the mission originally assigned to him. Through the Grand Chief Steward, he received the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s permission. He had been told it was not particularly rare. The discretionary authority of the Divine Sword Squad’s Seventeen Squad Leaders was greater than he had expected.
If a Squad Leader believed something concerned the main fortress, the main fortress gave it brief consideration before issuing a new mission. Such was the position of a Black Uniform supreme master.
The new Leader of Demon Wings was no different.
One. Eliminate the Demonic Sect forces disrupting the people’s lives in Xi’an.
Two. Slay Yeoryeong’s expert who was posing as the Baiyang Sect Master.
Three. Permission for mass slaughter, regardless of status.
It was the Leader of Demon Wings’ deployment order. The first line was connected to Jeong Hye’s safety. Jeong Yeon-shin thought, As I cut off heads, something will surely come out.
Killing intent seeped from the new Leader of Demon Wings.
The Divine Sword Squad’s Seventeen Squad Leaders were a group of supreme masters whose thoughts directly became their bearing. Their martial power pressed down on their surroundings.
Flinch.
Jin Myeong-jo’s front foot, standing on thin ice, twisted slightly. Only the water around him rippled, and his balance did not falter.
Was it because his lightness skill was so profound? Jeong Yeon-shin admired him inwardly. Senior Jin must always train in the Body Movement Scripture.
‘He is no less elegant than the Moon-Shooting Bow Ghost.’
He recalled Wi Ye-ryeong, who had transferred from the Immortal Wood Spirit Squad to Demon Wings. She was a Blue Uniform master archer.
With the profound movements of the elven race, she had given Jeong Yeon-shin much inspiration. She was likely waiting with the other Demon Wings seniors now.
“You can handle it alone.”
Jin Myeong-jo suddenly spoke.
When Jeong Yeon-shin looked puzzled, he added a few words.
“Xi’an’s martial world.”
“Ah.”
“It is a martial world on the level of a Squad Leader. Its scale is different. If you accomplish this, you will clearly enter the ranks of those who shape the world. Your fame will reach all of Jiangbei, and you will only be assigned missions suited to your name. Remember that, and may martial fortune be with you.”
“...Yes.”
“I will send word the moment the Tyrant Sword Sect Master moves. Do not die to some worthless rabble.”
“May martial fortune be with you as well, Senior Jin.”
Jeong Yeon-shin was about to cup his fists.
Divine Blood Extreme Demon Jin Myeong-jo shook his head slightly.
Boom!
Before his junior’s eyes, he kicked off the thin ice beneath his feet. It was a leap filled with monstrous martial power. It was as though he had used the explosion of his qi itself as a foothold.
The Blood Guard Squad Leader shot straight upward, black robes fluttering. His Body Movement Scripture resembled a bat’s flight.
Sunlight scattered into fragments over the splashing water.
‘Damn it, even my skin is going to burn. I can’t stand this. Let’s run.’
Jin Myeong-jo thought.
“I will wish you martial fortune.”
With an indifferent expression, he murmured the words and flicked his sleeves with flair. They rustled loudly.
Using the recoil of his qi, he changed direction in midair. With his back turned, Jin Myeong-jo vanished in an instant through an elegant Body Movement Scripture that resembled the beating of wings.
Whoosh!
It was a mysterious feat close to Walking Upon Empty Space. It seemed to be an expert art that Desolate Fortress Squad Leaders each possessed. It was deeply wondrous.
‘There is something like that, too.’
Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes shone.
In that instant, he gained great inspiration. Senior Jin truly was different. From his conduct to his skills, there was nothing he could not emulate.
It was the same today. He now understood what his own eye technique should pursue. The path had become completely clear.
It was a great achievement.
‘Now, if I only have one trigger, I can become even...’
Stronger.
* * *
The news of Xian Chivalrous Swordsman Gal Do-jin and Xian Young Hero So Yu-rang spread far and wide. They had been thoroughly defeated by a person called the leader of the outsiders.
There had been too many witnesses. No one in the inn had been harmed.
Rumors of the Sungyeo Branch’s humiliation spread like wildfire.
Xi’an, Shaanxi.
Though the city had grown tense recently, it was still a great city. Its area was enormous. That also meant there were many places to hide and discuss rumors.
It was not just one or two places. People who had gathered out of sight of unorthodox martial artists whispered with interest.
“So Yu-rang, that demon lackey, was beaten in one move!”
“I heard Gal Do-jin couldn’t even properly draw his sword.”
“That’s an exaggeration. He is a fierce swordsman, after all. I heard his drawn sword was shoved right back into its sheath.”
“I heard there were two of them, and now two more have joined them. They must be a rather skilled group of wandering martial artists. They likely drifted here while looking for food.”
“They say they have more than enough skill to make a living...”
“Well, obviously.”
“There aren’t many of them, yet they’ve given us something entertaining for once. They might last quite a while.”
It was an inner chamber of a manor, an exceedingly spacious room.
Sungyeo Branch Master Wi Il-hwa sat in a copper-hued grand preceptor’s chair and listened to their voices.
She snorted and crossed her legs.
Chilly sunlight poured down from every direction. Drifting dust stood out grain by grain. The air was heavy enough to seem visible.
It surely felt that way to the people trembling before Wi Il-hwa.
“Could they be equal to the Sungyeo Branch Master...?”
“Impossible... You don’t know the Flame-Sprinkling Demon Sword well enough... They may be able to embarrass her, at most...”
Sunlight from the window illuminated the mouths of more than a dozen people. It touched them with a scorching quality.
Commoners and wandering martial artists. They kept repeating the things they had said before being captured, kneeling before the Sungyeo Branch Master with faces frozen in terror.
Wi Il-hwa’s mouth curved upward.
“Keep going. Keep going.”
She savored the faces and voices of those dragged before her. Her mind, cultivated through her art, soaked in sweetness.
Not even the opium poppy could compare. It felt as if she were melting sweets like candied hawthorn in her head.
It was her strange habit, letting people wither to death. Among the amusements of Demonic Sect masters, it was considered rather refined.
Even Jang Gi-il, the Sobaek Sect Master, had slowly cut off the heads of ten commoners before the Tyrant Sword Sect’s Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword.
‘Compared with Jang Gi-il, at least.’
Wi Il-hwa parted her lips.
“The Sungyeo Branch has suffered a great loss of face.”
“...”
Silence spread at once. The disciples standing beyond the commoners held their breath.
The work of that so-called leader.
Respect for the Demonic Sect arose from fear of their conduct and martial strength. It was as though that person had swept all of it into a bucket of filth.
Fights that broke out unexpectedly in the martial world were common, but this could be called a major incident. If they could not smooth it over, it would become difficult for them to act as a rising powerful clan.
A combined attack would be better. In the unorthodox martial world, the power of personal prestige was no different from martial strength.
“Send this letter to that leader after three days. As for Jang Gi-il, the Sobaek Sect Master, that traitor of Zhongnan, add a separate message. Tell Jang Gi-il that this Branch Master will consider summoning the First Demon of Shaanxi, so it may be necessary to contact the Tyrant Sword Sect’s Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword. Tell everyone to hide first.”
She responded thoroughly in the manner of the unorthodox path. She devised schemes to dismantle the powerful outsider who had entered Xi’an piece by piece and use them as fertilizer for her sect.
“A swordsman who commands qi sword control with a single sword is not the only strong one. If there is someone who can command a thousand swords, that person too is a peerless master. Like this Branch Master.”
Wi Il-hwa left many orders for her subordinates.
Then she concealed herself here.
All powerful people had their own hiding places. The Sungyeo Branch Master also had a secluded safehouse far away, passed down through generations. It was a pavilion harmoniously built in the mountains.
She withdrew for a time. She was not confident she would survive if an unidentified supreme master barged in.
There was no need to stand firm. The unorthodox path had its own laws. It was enough to crush and kill them in the Demonic Sect’s way.
Scratch.
Her fingertips lightly scraped the armrest.
How many wandering martial artists like the Sword Star could there be in the world? They usually died before becoming peerless masters. That was how it generally went.
“It’s not as though this has happened only once or twice.”
Her amused murmur was swallowed by the cries of mountain birds.
* * *
Three days later.
Jegal Hyeon, who had entered disguised as a merchant, clearly felt it. The instant he set foot in Xi’an, he had the impression that the city was in motion.
Something was wrong.
Merchants had packed up their stalls. Even shop hands who had stood along the official roads loudly calling out to customers had hidden themselves.
After entering shops and inns, they showed no sign of coming out.
Two notices had been posted at the corner of an alley.
[Fruit Cloud’s wandering martial artist group shall receive judgment from our brothers beneath Daewol Gorge at noon on Lesser Snow*. Our fellows who follow righteous chivalry have gathered their will. If you know shame, it would be best to withdraw first. We have decided to strictly punish and drive out these lawless outsiders. Xi’an’s stern sword edge is now aimed at you.
-Sungyeo Branch Master, Flame-Sprinkling Demon Sword Wi Il-hwa]
[Bullshit.
-Acting Leader of the Radiant Art Stronghold, True Brother]
Below the notices, pine needles that had fallen from a nearby tree rolled about.
They already looked lifeless from drying yellow. A low, chilly wind was blowing.
The once bustling city had fallen quiet, as though fear had united it.
“What is this...?”
The peerlessly handsome man dressed like a scholar drew his sleeves close.
It was Immortal Dragon Jegal Hyeon.
“When the Zhongnan Sect was here, this place was so lively.”
“Young Master, that is not a name to speak carelessly. Xi’an is now called by disparaging names such as a demon den...”
The person walking beside Immortal Dragon spoke. They too wore padded yellow clothing and had their hands tucked into their sleeves like a merchant.
As a martial artist of the Jegal Family’s Profound Heaven Squad, they were exceptionally skilled at concealing energy.
The eldest young master, who had refined the family’s eye technique, had come in person. Jegal Hyeon had softened the structure around his eyes further with the sorcery art known as the Bone-Shrinking Skill.
The martial lineage of the Jegal heir had many such mysterious martial arts.
“I heard every unorthodox sect is moving to capture one wandering martial artist who is presumed to be a supreme master.”
“Thanks to that, our secret intelligence network has many chances to infiltrate. It has become easier to obtain information. It is as if a tempest has risen around a single inn.”
They hurried along, lowering their voices to nearly sound transmission.
“What was that place called?”
“It was called Fruit Cloud Inn.”
The Martial Alliance Assembly in Hanzhong, like the Zhongnan Sect, was rooted in Xi’an. They had no choice but to come investigate after hearing of this disturbance.
They had also heard the rumors of the wandering martial artist group that had spectacularly humiliated the Sungyeo Branch.
“It would be best to take a look. To judge what comes afterward, we need to know the extent of their martial strength.”
“We’re almost there. They said not even an ant can approach it now.”
Then it happened.
“I’ll pay double.”
“My apologies. I have committed a crime deserving death...”
“No, I’m telling you to sell it. I said I’ll give you silver.”
“My apologies. I truly am sorry...”
It was the middle of a street that was steadily emptying. A merchant wearing shabby yellow hemp clothing despite the winter was arguing with someone.
They stood before a stall displaying dried grain. Perhaps the merchant had been unable to close the stall out of necessity.
The merchant seemed unwilling to trade with a man standing like a street thug. Anyone could see that the merchant feared an unorthodox martial artist.
Jegal Hyeon’s eyebrows twisted strangely.
“Why is that fellow here?”
“That is Languid Flame...”
Immortal Dragon’s subordinate fell silent and stared ahead.
Languid Flame Dragon of the Huangbo Family had crouched before the stall without anyone noticing. He looked exactly like a black-path thug.
Even the way he chewed with an empty mouth, as though it contained opium poppy, made him look the part.
“Were you paid off? Told not to sell food to us? By whom? Those worthless Sungyeo Branch bastards? I didn’t know Xi’an’s local tyranny was this bad. The martial world’s honor has fallen to the ground.”
“Great Hero, even if you treat this lowly one so...!”
“There is a child in my household who is still growing. Their limbs are worth a thousand gold. If they don’t grow properly, will you take responsibility? Even when I say I’ll pay you silver? The world truly has gone to ruin!”
The merchant’s face went white. The merchant was on the verge of protesting.
Jegal Hyeon approached the two.
“Why are you causing a disturbance in broad daylight?”
“If you don’t know, then keep quiet... Hm?”
Languid Flame Dragon only slightly turned his head to look at Jegal Hyeon. His eyebrows rose as though he found it absurd. Clear Qilin, Immortal Dragon, and Languid Flame Dragon were among the most outstanding talents of the great martial families.
Under Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin’s lead, they had formed a friendship. The Bone-Shrinking Skill and disguise were not enough to keep them from recognizing each other.
“Of all things.”
Languid Flame Dragon snorted.
“D-Duck! Lower your heads!”
The merchant, who had been glancing at the sky out of habit, cried out in a strained voice.
Wooooong!
A prolonged roar rang out. It came from a height close to the clouds. Languid Flame Dragon and Jegal Hyeon looked up, their eyes widening.
In the distant sky.
An old woman stood atop a single sword.
She was a one-armed swordswoman with ears sharp as blade tips. Though she was far enough away to look like a dot, a monstrous presence washed over them.
She flew straight across the blue-tinged wilderness. Blue tassel threads streamed long from the end of the sword hilt beneath her feet, alongside the old woman’s empty sleeve.
Mystical vibrations spread without pause, as though she were recreating sword flight through some kind of sorcery art.
She did not even glance below. She looked like an immortal with no interest in the world below. At least, that was how she appeared.
Jegal Hyeon groaned.
“Sword flight, the Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword...!”
“A supreme master of the Thirteen Heavens within Xi’an’s unorthodox sects.”
Languid Flame Dragon muttered, frowning.
They could not move for a long while. Along with the merchant, they remained silent in the empty street.
Only the winter wind brushed through the pine needles with a loud, dry whistle.
*Minor Snow is an alternate rendering of this seasonal division. Lesser Snow is retained here for continuity with the preceding chapter.
Footnotes:
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