WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 261: Ascent (11)

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Jang Sun-il, who had been leading the group, trailed off.

"This way, this is the right way... but the earth vein is being severed. That's strange. It shouldn't be possible..."

He tested the snow, white beneath the sunlight, with several different steps before cocking his head.

Footprints headed in different directions and overlapped in rounded patterns. Then, new martial artists appeared along the ridgeline where a clear glow stretched onward.

Each wore a sword or saber at their waist. There were well over a hundred of them.

Their bearing was extraordinary.

The Bukgung siblings stepped up on either side of the youth.

The martial artists who had climbed Mount Taebaek first were behaving strangely.

They had been wandering nearby even before Jeong Yeon-shin's group reached the midslope. Now, they began scanning the surroundings with unusual expressions, openly hostile.

"This makes no sense. This isn't normal."

"Find the axis. It has to be here."

They muttered among themselves and gripped their sword hilts.

Dull crashes sounded from all around, followed by the sharp scrape of blades leaving their scabbards.

They began cutting through thickets and felling trees. They swept their gazes around and glared at everyone nearby.

They were not acting like people gauging the situation. They looked certain that hostile enemies were somewhere nearby.

"Aren't those experts from the Beast King Sect?"

"The Beast King Sect Leader! Even the Beast King Sect Leader came!"

"Good heavens... even Yan'an Prefecture's foremost martial lineage... Looking at their numbers, they brought everyone. The Beast King Sect was supposed to be an honorable sect..."

"Didn't word spread that the Thirteen Heavens and Mount Hua Sect had arrived? Does the Beast King Sect even matter?"

"It matters to us. Look at their momentum. They look ready to bury someone at any moment."

One of Shaanxi's leading sects had appeared. The martial artists nearby scattered in every direction.

Anyone would have done the same after seeing six ancient trees severed by a single slash from the Beast King Sect Leader at the front.

"We should keep our heads down."

Bukgung Hu whispered into the guide boy's ear.

Jang Sun-il looked unconvinced.

"Th-that man died too, didn't he? Is there really anything to worry about...?"

He was referring to Geum Si-hu, the Rogue King. It was a fair point. They had seen a peerless expert who had stood above the martial world lose his life at Jeong Yeon-shin's hands.

It must have been one of the greatest shocks anyone could witness. It was difficult to imagine anyone among the nearby martial artists who could stand against Jeong Yeon-shin.

Jang Sun-il had been looking down on the surrounding martial artists, secure in his companion's strength.

Bukgung Hu shook his head.

"Your life is the concern. Can you even count how many wolves have gathered here? Didn't they say great powers from across the nearby Central Plains had converged? Nothing serious will happen to your companion. But how could you keep up with your companion's transcendent movement skill?"

"Ah..."

"My younger brother is right. Stay close to us. The strong attract the strong, so your companion's side may be even more dangerous."

Bukgung Rin spoke as she clenched and unclenched her pale hand.

Her Central Plains speech did not distinguish gender.

It had been the same when she spoke of Jeong Yeon-shin becoming a bride. Yet that only made her seem more like a foreigner devoted to the martial path. Bukgung Hu was no different.

Even the smallest things about them drew attention. Their blue-white hair, like a cloudy sky melted down, looked foreign to anyone.

Many had already been watching Jeong Yeon-shin's group from the corners of their eyes. Whispers rose from every direction.

"We only need to get past here. Mount Taebaek is far larger than I thought."

"Don't be ridiculous. Aren't we circling the same place? No matter how dull your aura sense is, does it make sense not to notice this? Unless... you're pretending not to know?"

"What did you say?"

"So many fellow martial artists are still lost. Something is clearly wrong."

"A formation... Is it a formation? That's why they're...!"

More and more martial artists looked as though they had realized something. They had understood that they were caught in some sort of trap.

The Beast King Sect, which had climbed Mount Taebaek first, had been acting strangely. Seen another way, they were searching for the axis that would break the formation.

A sharp tension filled the air.

A sect as great as the Beast King Sect was behaving like this. There was little room to doubt that a formation had been deployed.

To begin with, it was extremely strange that martial artists of this caliber could not completely climb Mount Taebaek.

There was no explanation other than a formation that distorted one's sense of space.

Deploying a formation this vast through sorcery arts was no simple matter.

Unless the caster was Zhuge Wuhou himself, they would need to remain within the formation and reinforce it constantly. Those with even a little knowledge immediately recalled that common understanding.

Enemies had set something up within this place.

There had always been people in the martial world who lured others with treasure maps, spiritual medicine, and secret manuals to gain some sinister profit.

The martial artists on Mount Taebaek began looking around. Aimless hostility flowed out with their aura. Light snow drifted through the air everywhere.

"So this is a sorcery formation...?"

"What kind of rabble would dare?"

"Stop hiding and show yourselves! Have you lost all fear?"

"What are you plotting? What do you want?"

Then it happened.

"Fellow martial artists, please look this way for a moment!"

A majestic shout rang out without obstruction. It was a Lion's Roar that forcibly drew the attention of everyone nearby.

A powerful wave of inner energy spread in all directions, shaking clumps of snow from the bare branches. Its reach was immense.

The murmuring stopped. The experts' gazes gathered at the center of the snow-swept hill.

"This Wei has a word to say."

The voice that resonated from the large man's body was deep. He was a middle-aged man with a handsome, lustrous face and striking eyes.

Though he wore a plain blue long robe without a trace of embroidery, he looked as splendid as if he wore ceremonial attire. It was simply the air he carried.

Saaah-

An invisible aura flowing from his entire body swept the snow from beneath his feet.

He had been smashing rocks that could have served as axes of the formation with his bare hands. The countless martial artists present fell silent.

"Wi Se-hyeok, the Beast King Sect Leader..."

Someone muttered as if groaning.

"Beyond this point, once we cross this place, we will find the thousand-year-old he shou wu. A follower of my sect told me so, so it is undoubtedly true. With the skill you have shown in reaching this place, you must have guessed as much yourselves."

Wi Se-hyeok looked around as he spoke, extending one hand to point behind him.

The lower edge of his blue sleeve fluttered in the snowy wind as he continued slowly.

"Spiritual herbs that grow from the earth belong to whoever pulls them out first. As the Beast King Sect Leader, this Wei wished to uphold that unwritten rule and preserve the dignity of his station. I only did my utmost because I wished to feed my disciples something good."

His eyes swept the surroundings before meeting those of the handsome young man seated in the palanquin for an instant.

Then they turned toward Jeong Yeon-shin's group. He examined the handsome youth in a Black Uniform robe, standing silently among them.

Fine wrinkles formed at the corners of Wi Se-hyeok's bold eyes.

"Yet those efforts came to nothing. We found ourselves walking in place while countless heroes of the martial world climbed from below. It was truly a strange state of affairs. There cannot be many local martial artists in Shaanxi who would use such a contemptible trick. To begin with, the only renowned martial lineage in our land skilled in sorcery arts is the Zhuge Family at the edge of Hanzhong Prefecture, is it not?"

His words carried an unyielding strength. It was as though an iron-bound nature flowed through his voice.

A voice honed through inner energy breathing was bound to leave a powerful impression on a crowd.

Even if there were holes in his words, the name he had built as the head of a great sect and his Lion's Roar-like speech gave them force.

This was the martial world. The words of a powerful person with a great reputation were bound to gain trust that had not existed before.

"Hmm..."

The reaction was not bad. Some had already turned their eyes toward the distinctly unusual group.

Wi Se-hyeok's gaze flashed with colorless radiance.

"Yet there are foreigners over there. Look at their hair and facial features. They have come to pull out and consume a treasure born in the soil of the Central Plains. The expressions of the youths accompanying them are also far from ordinary. Therefore, this sect leader wishes to interrogate them personally..."

His lips moved.

"I fear they may cloud the judgment of my fellow martial artists, so I ask your permission. I will not ask you to join me. A dangerous trick has been laid across this treacherous mountain, so I only wish to proceed as one tests a stone bridge before crossing it..."

"The Beast King Sect Leader is right!"

"They look extremely suspicious. We should keep them here. What if they tamper with the formation's axis and cause something terrible?"

Voices of agreement rose from all around.

They pressed forward through the aura released by hundreds of martial artists who had made their way through Mount Taebaek's chaotic foothills.

It was nothing like the Beast King Sect Leader's claim that he was not asking them to participate. They were extremely proactive.

Jeong Yeon-shin, who had listened in silence, caught every one of their movements.

Heaven-Displaying Eye Technique.

The eyes through which the Leader of Demon Wings watched over the people's welfare.

The scope of his vision was on an entirely different level from before. He could clearly perceive even what lay outside his focus, enough that it seemed he could take in all directions at once.

He studied the agitators down to the deepest movements of their facial muscles. They were the ones who had opened their mouths the moment Wi Se-hyeok finished speaking.

Their jaw joints and masticatory muscles moved at once. To Jeong Yeon-shin, it was as clear as seeing someone standing nose to nose with him roll their eyes.

'They know me. This was a trap.'

The martial artists nearby retreated in confusion. Some, however, cautiously crept closer.

Most possessed profoundly deep, tyrannical martial power of the unorthodox path. They seemed to be members of the Blood Flame Sect, the Tyrant Sword Sect, and Yeoryeong, all groups he had encountered before.

The bald ones could well be blood demons hiding their red hair.

"I will strike the moment you show any suspicious movement."

Crunch.

Wi Se-hyeok, the Beast King Sect Leader, approached with light steps. No footprints remained in the snow behind him.

The gathered martial artists looked unnerved and retreated further. His Body Movement Scripture had reached the level of treading snow without leaving a trace.

"He overcame the first wave with ease."

From afar, the Young Lord of Yeoryeong rested a chin on one hand while reclining in the palanquin, watching Jeong Yeon-shin with interest.

"The Rogue King was difficult for anyone but the Blood Flame Sect to control, so he went to waste... but the second wave should prove useful enough. Above all, he cannot reveal that he is a Desolate Fortress Squad Leader for fear of the arrival of the Lords of the Thirteen Heavens, so the other martial artists will be easily swayed."

It was little more than putting the events already unfolding into words.

The martial artists nearby were clearly shaken by the planted agitators. Their looks toward Jeong Yeon-shin's group were unfriendly.

One by one, they began to step forward. To them, that extraordinary youth was no more than an unidentified bat clinging to wolves from beyond the frontier.

People were always harsh toward what they did not understand.

The Young Lord of Yeoryeong smiled with a noble air.

Faintly smiling lips moved slowly.

"Can Protector So handle the Leader of Demon Wings alone?"

"He is the one who killed the First Demon of Shaanxi by himself. It would be difficult alone."

The black-clad swordswoman replied quietly while standing beside the palanquin.

She stroked her sword hilt while watching the Leader of Demon Wings finally face the Beast King Sect Leader.

"Your inner energy is close to the orthodox path, Protector. I think you could put up a decent fight."

"You are already considering the Beast King Sect Leader's defeat."

"Naturally. Even if I admire the Leader of Demon Wings to some extent, I know he is an irreconcilable enemy. Even in Go, it is wise to grasp an opponent's skill without embellishment..."

Then, suddenly, from afar, Jeong Yeon-shin placed a hand on the cloth wrapped around his shoulder.

The Young Lord of Yeoryeong's eyes widened slightly, and the Beast King Sect Leader faltered.

Jeong Yeon-shin's lips moved.

"In whose presence do you dare level a false accusation...?"

His voice had settled pleasantly with puberty, ringing out somewhat quietly. At the same time, his hand moved without hesitation from his shoulder.

Riiip!

The cloth wrapped around his arm tore free.

It shimmered gold against the bright snow.

Desolation.

The character was revealed before the experts of Mount Taebaek.

Then, when had he drawn it?

Thunk!

Jeong Yeon-shin drove a white treasured sword into the snow-covered ground. White light flowed from the snow to the blade, then to its hilt, trembling with a sacred quality.

It was not reflected sunlight. An auspicious pulse, strong enough for anyone to feel, began to surge through the winter wind.

Dharma power.

Hummm-

It spread with a divine presence. Even those who had encountered it only through oral accounts and documents could recognize at once that it held no evil.

A mysterious aura, like sunlight pouring down over a temple, lingered in all directions.

"..."

The commotion around them froze in an instant. Everyone fell silent with different expressions. Jang Sun-il and the Bukgung siblings standing behind him were no exception.

At this moment, Jeong Yeon-shin was thinking.

What would the Desolate Fortress Divine Hero have done? What scheme would that Huangbo brat have used to gain an advantage?

He slowly opened his mouth.

"I am Jeong Yeon-shin, Leader of Demon Wings."

Then he raised his left hand and pointed in one direction, toward the handsome young man seated in the palanquin.

"That bastard is using dark sorcery. He is thoroughly wicked."

The Leader of Demon Wings spoke with blue radiance flashing in both eyes.

At once, panic spread through the surroundings.

Footnotes:

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