WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 249: Punishment, Bond (6)
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Ma Gwang-il’s Squad gathered around the blue silk bedding. It was the most lavish and spacious room in the inn’s annex.
The painting of the Ten Symbols of Longevity that Baek Mir-yeo and Hyeon Won-chang had brought depicted the sun, mountains, white cranes, turtles, and other ancient symbols.
They silently looked down at Jeong Yeon-shin, who was sleeping more deeply than ever.
His face was peaceful.
His thick, neat brows did not twitch. His nose rose in a graceful line, but his lightly closed lips were pale and bloodless.
The boy looked unusually handsome in sleep, but there was little trace of the Leader of Demon Wings’ bearing.
Only after losing consciousness did he truly look his age. That was because he was an unrivaled master.
Baek Mir-yeo’s eyes sharpened as she spoke.
“He pushed himself too hard.”
“He did.”
Cheong Myeong answered without expression.
Baek Mir-yeo swept back the hair beside her ear with her long fingers.
“Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword was far too formidable. A newly appointed Black Uniform defeating the Elder Council Head of the Tyrant Sword Sect was already no ordinary matter. It was an achievement in itself.”
“It’s more than enough for a Black Uniform’s second mission. The reward will be enormous. Xiangyang is quite far away, but once the news reaches the main fortress, everyone will be in an uproar.”
Hyeon Won-chang joined in, stroking the hero’s headband around his brow.
“I understand he has yet to receive the reward for his previous mission as well. I wonder what all those accumulated rewards will amount to.”
“Why are you all talking about something else? The Squad Leader collapsed.”
A voice in an entirely different tone cut in. Languid Flame Dragon, standing to one side with his arms crossed, spoke bluntly. The shadows beneath his eyes were especially dark.
Ma Gwang-il’s Squad did not answer. They could not help but consider an ominous possibility.
Their Squad Leader had once spoken of his lifespan. What if it had been calculated incorrectly?
Even considering the many aftereffects that could follow a fierce battle between masters, this was too much.
Seom-ye’s life was severely limited.
Heaven had cut his lifeline short but granted him boundless talent. Languid Flame Dragon might be in circumstances similar to Jeong Yeon-shin’s, but the scale and nature of their talents differed.
There was no one to consult about it. Languid Flame Dragon knew nothing in the first place.
“Isn’t it better to say something pleasant than stand around looking so miserable? Maybe he’ll hear us and regain consciousness sooner.”
Cheong Myeong spoke with a faint smile.
Silence followed. The call of a winter scops owl outside the window grew louder.
Had it failed to fly south in time? It seemed to symbolize Demon Wings’ circumstances. The absence of an unrivaled master weighed heavily on them.
Though they were the occupiers, they had become surrounded within the Demonic Sect’s territory.
Immortal Dragon Jegal Hyeon had departed before the Prefect arrived. He said he had to urgently report what had happened to the Martial Alliance in Hanzhong.
Sword Dragon Weiji Myo-hwa was staying at the Sobaek Sect of Jang Gi-il, a Zhongnan Sect lay disciple.
Only Demon Wings remained.
A moment later, Baek Mir-yeo spoke.
“We will secure Jeong Hye, the Zhongnan Sect disciple.”
“Is that right? Just us? Shouldn’t we first figure out what to do about the Squad Leader? We’re not dealing with one of the Seven Great Clans here. We’re truly facing one of the Thirteen Heavens.”
Languid Flame Dragon asked lazily, lacing his fingers behind his neck.
Cheong Myeong glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin’s face, then rose.
“We don’t know when our Squad Leader will wake up. There’s no guarantee his niece is being held only in Shaanxi. We have to at least try. We can’t throw away a clue we finally obtained.”
“We’ll have to strike and withdraw somehow.”
Hyeon Won-chang muttered.
* * *
An estate backed by an immense mountain range.
The sign above its gate bore the words Zhongming Escort Agency in vigorous strokes.
Countless people and goods passed through it.
The commotion was just as great.
Wheels from every sort of cart and carriage rolled across the stone ground. Wooden frames rattled, while hundreds of martial artists and laborers walked about in well-made leather shoes. It was hard to believe there was a famine.
“...”
Yet no one spoke. Every person remained silent.
Within the strange stillness, made all the more unnatural by how routine it seemed, they carried goods, wrote up manifests, entered the estate, or left without so much as stepping on the threshold.
It was Yeoryeong’s Shaanxi branch, disguised as an escort agency.
It handled more information than any other of the Thirteen Heavens. The prevailing view was that it should be considered a Hao Clan with the military strength of a major faction.
In silence, they laid bare the martial world’s underbelly and adjusted its currents as they pleased.
There were even rumors that the Lord of Yeoryeong had encouraged the Tyrant Sword Sect Master to destroy the Zhongnan Sect.
Few people at Zhongming Escort Agency could speak freely. Only its leader, who served as both branch head and escort agency master, and several subordinates could do so.
Though located deep within the agency, the room was as bright as daylight.
It was lit by lanternlight. Five people sat around a map, each possessing a faint aura.
They were masters who had learned secret ultimate arts, allowing them to wield soundless sword qi even in fierce battles. They could be called Yeoryeong’s elite.
“There are rumors that a dragon ascended from the sea near Honghua Prefecture in Fujian.”
A subordinate dressed in black reported.
“But the martial artists are saying something different, aren’t they?”
“Yes. Though it is difficult to believe human strength could cause it, they say it appeared to be a form of Force Projection. They speak as if supernatural phenomena truly exist.”
“Think of the founding days of Ming. Our leader said there were no great exaggerations in the Grand Compendium of Ming. Anything can happen under heaven.”
“The government troops have sealed off the docks there. It appears they are waiting for someone...”
“It must be a master from Desolate Fortress. The imperial family’s peerless masters do not take on dangerous work. If something has happened on that scale, it would be a Purple Uniform... Yet the only Purple Uniform remaining at Desolate Fortress is the Divine Sword Squad Leader, is it not? But that person is currently... Hm. In any case, the branch there will be looking into it.”
The elderly man dressed in a yellow merchant’s robe rambled on. Yet no one found him amusing. Their tension only deepened.
Wi Geuk-sang, the First Demon of Shaanxi.
He was Yeoryeong’s leader in Shaanxi.
After slaughtering hundreds of commoners who had left their villages in search of land to cultivate, he came to be called the foremost demon upon fertile earth.
Thanks to his exceptionally strange martial arts, he had effortlessly evaded even Desolate Fortress’s pursuit.
He had mastered demonic arts of the Central Plains, which followed a different path from the Ming Cult’s martial lineage in Xinjiang. Colorless aura constantly flickered around his still body.
It was a fluctuation of power he released only within Zhongming Escort Agency, proof of strength approaching that of a mountain god.
“By the way.”
He spoke again.
“I hear the Sword Fangs of the Tyrant Sword Sect are making trouble over some trivial matter.”
The woman beside him snickered. Like Wi Geuk-sang, she wore a green precious sword at her waist.
“The child you took in? She was quite striking in appearance... What about her?”
“I accepted her as a disciple because of her exceptional talent and lineage.”
The woman nodded at the First Demon of Shaanxi’s answer.
“That is only natural. She was a disciple the Sword Immortal of Zhongnan accepted in his later years... Why else would that frightening old man have ruined the seniority order? Her comprehension must be exceptional. So long as you do not devour her, she will grow into a useful master someday. Wasn’t that why you carried her in your arms when you broke through the Plum Blossom Sword Formation?”
“That is not all.”
“Then what is it?”
“The child’s uncle. Is there not a living supernatural phenomenon in Desolate Fortress? I had my doubts even after receiving information from headquarters, but he openly appeared in Hanzhong, the neighboring city, and triumphed at the Orthodox Alliance’s grand founding ceremony. Before even reaching twenty.”
The woman shook her head.
“I’m getting tired of hearing about the Leader of Demon Wings. It hasn’t been a day or two since he became the talk of Shaanxi.”
“He is different even from the Young Sect Master of the Ming Cult. It should be impossible. It is natural to wonder whether there is something in that bloodline. I do as well, even disregarding the fact that Jeong Family Manor in Henan was an insignificant third-rate martial family. The Sword Fangs may be late in claiming ownership, but the child was a captive before becoming my disciple.”
“Isn’t being held in the First Demon of Shaanxi’s embrace enough? There are few safer places in the world.”
“You are right.”
Suddenly, the First Demon of Shaanxi in yellow drew his sword.
Orange lanternlight ran along the blade, then shattered together with the ceiling, crushed by the force wave of his sword strike.
Boom!
“I thought I might catch one!”
A handsome young man shot up through the ceiling. The way he stepped on the sword strike’s force wave as though it were stairs was no ordinary movement technique.
His free movements carried traces of refined forms, revealing the teachings of a prestigious family.
“Radiant Grace Heavenly King Step. A spoiled brat from the Huangbo Family. It felt as though a rat was eavesdropping.”
Wi Geuk-sang muttered.
At once, the surrounding subordinates and the woman scattered in all directions, breaking through the walls. They anticipated the aftermath of the First Demon of Shaanxi’s next step.
He calmly lifted and lowered his foot where he stood. Streams of black energy flowed from beneath it.
Heavenly Mound Demonic Knot: Dominion Rite.
Step.
The instant his leather shoe touched the floor, everything around him turned black.
There was not even an explosive sound. Structures in all directions turned to ash and collapsed in an instant. The range was unbelievably wide.
Through the drifting gray dust, the mountains outside came into view. It was a force wave closer to divine power than martial skill. It could only be called godlike.
Wi Geuk-sang raised his head.
Languid Flame Dragon’s figure stood exposed in the open sky above the destroyed ceiling. After discussing it with the others in Demon Wings, he had agreed to hold the enemy master’s attention.
His role was to endure for even a moment while Cheong Myeong, Hyeon Won-chang, and the others, swift with the Body Movement Scripture, searched for Jeong Hye.
He had deliberately revealed his presence. One of his companions had been spotted from afar. If they could not hold Wi Geuk-sang here, everything would be over.
“Intruders! At least twenty!”
“They are strong! Do not cross swords carelessly!”
Other Demon Wings masters rushed in as well. The estate walls collapsed, and the clash of metal rang out. The attack unfolded in an instant.
“You are rather strong... Yet you have invaded a place you should never have coveted.”
The First Demon of Shaanxi raised his sword.
“Die.”
* * *
The moment Jeong Yeon-shin woke, he assessed his physical condition.
He had collapsed from overstraining his widely opened upper dantian. The Baihui acupoint atop his head was directly connected to the blood flow in his brain.
Before he had time to adapt to the eye technique he had newly created, he had examined every detail of a veteran unrivaled master like Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword. It was only natural that his mind had suffered an enormous strain.
‘Once you lose consciousness in the martial world, everything moves quickly.’
He remembered being carried by the Lord of Desolate Fortress at the Blood Flame Sect’s main altar.
Jeong Yeon-shin got to his feet and stepped outside.
He brushed aside Shin So-bin and Kang Chang-mu, who had kept vigil by his bedside. After hearing what had happened, he urged them on with a glance and learned where the others had gone.
Then he immediately rushed out.
Whoooosh!
A powerful current of wind wrapped around his thighs. The colorless force wave of Wind Body churned more violently than ever.
Though he had yet to create a lightness skill, it became an immense driving force. He instinctively altered his manner of movement, turning it into a running technique.
Crack!
The ground pushed back hard beneath his feet. Ignoring the accumulated pain throughout his body, Jeong Yeon-shin ran without pause.
Even as his entire body began to convulse, his speed did not change while climbing the mountain. The pale dawn sunlight gradually brightened.
It was Hwiryeong Mountain in Fengxiang Prefecture. As a Black Uniform of Desolate Fortress, he had memorized every detail of the area’s geography.
‘There.’
His view opened wide between the mountain ridges.
Several plumes of smoke rose from an estate built in the mountains.
It appeared to be Yeoryeong’s safehouse. Unfamiliar martial artists were engaged in life-and-death duels with his familiar companions. Fierce clashes erupted everywhere.
Boom! Thud!
The air shook. Force Projection waves collided. A battle on the scale of a sect war was underway. White force waves from the Radiant Art Formation burst out across the estate.
It was already a battlefield. He had to set priorities.
Jeong Yeon-shin first found the overwhelmingly powerful aura.
A swordsman in yellow was relentlessly driving back Demon Wings’ masters.
He reached roughly six feet in height. Arrogance filled his black eyes.
He casually flicked the sleeves of his yellow robe as he unleashed sword strikes. The force waves extending from his blade carved deep furrows like compressed typhoons.
More than ten Blue Uniform martial artists, including Baek Mir-yeo and Cheong Myeong, surrounded him and launched a rotating assault, yet they were continually pushed back. The earth boomed as if struck by an earthquake.
Off to one side, Languid Flame Dragon lay with his eyes closed at the feet of two White Uniform martial artists. One was Jegal Cheong-a.
The instant he saw them.
Step.
Jeong Yeon-shin stood at Languid Flame Dragon’s head, enduring the sharp internal and external injuries constricting his entire body.
He reached his left hand toward Languid Flame Dragon’s chest. His arm blurred for an instant. With the speed of a supreme master, he snatched a cluster of flowers from inside Languid Flame Dragon’s robes.
Jegal Cheong-a, standing beside him, wore an unusually flustered expression.
“Squad Leader...?”
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.
He bit into a bright red opium poppy. Red petals crushed between his lips.
Staring at the enemies who had already reached him, he slowly chewed even the stem.
With his inner energy, he invigorated his stomach. The dharma power of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel spread the opium poppy’s medicinal effect through him in an instant. The sensation of his whole body being wrapped in clouds was terribly addictive.
Jeong Yeon-shin thought, So this is what it feels like.
“Spread out to either side. When I break through the center, widen the path I make. Leave Languid Flame Dragon behind.”
Seom-ye, Leader of Demon Wings, spoke through clenched teeth. The trembling in his sword-bearing right hand gradually stopped.
Instead, the force wave of Wind Body wrapped around his whole body, causing his black robes to flutter.
Force waves streamed from his entire body, endlessly circling like sword qi.
“We’re one step from that man.”
The air around them rippled. The enemies who had spotted the new arrival and rushed in hesitated.
Jeong Yeon-shin held another opium poppy petal between his lips. The area fell silent for a moment.
He looked completely possessed. Silence began to spread before his overwhelming battle stance.
Footnotes:
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