Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 272

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 272: Master of the Martial Book (9)

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Six sects had suffered damage tantamount to destruction. An entire thousand-year-old capital had been shaken to its foundations.

Across Shaanxi as a whole, it was no more than an incident in a single major city.

Few prefectures were as vast as Xi’an, but it was still only a local martial world.

Martial artists from small and mid-sized factions had divided up territory everywhere.

Rather than summon government troops over something as trivial as guarding the roads, they collected protection money and ambushed travelers, appearing and vanishing like ghosts with the Body Movement Scripture.

More than ten swordsmen made their way down the road.

The plum blossom embroidery at the hems of their white martial robes swayed, while their measured footsteps crunched over the thin layer of snow.

They resembled a single enormous, finely wrought sword. A solemn air surrounded them as they escorted a carriage.

“Plum blossoms. Mount Hua!”

“...Is that blood I smell? It seems one of the immortals has been injured.”

“Good heavens. I hope nothing is wrong.”

“At a time like this, for the Daoist masters to...”

It was the eastern edge of Shaanxi.

The official road teemed with travelers, and Mount Hua Sect’s masters drew countless eyes.

The footprints they left behind were unusually faint, while the energy flowing from their bodies was sharp as a divine winter gale.

It was the bearing of those who had honed their Daoist immortal aura to an edge like a sword blade, the power fluctuations of Mount Hua, a great sect that had existed since before the Ming Dynasty.

To ignorant low-ranking martial artists and ordinary people, they could only appear to be immortals. It had been that way for a long time.

No one dared approach them carelessly.

That was precisely what Mount Hua Sect’s Daoists intended.

The Plum Blossom Swordsmen and the Mount Hua Sword Absolute had suffered greatly at the hands of the Tyrant Sword Sect Master and the Demonic Sect’s masters.

With the Mount Hua sect leader gravely wounded and unable to move easily, it meant those escorting her were not Mount Hua Sect’s strongest force.

“Huayin County is close. Look, over there. Lotus Flower Peak is in sight.”

“Don’t let your guard down. We still have a long way to go.”

“Looking too tense may only make the common people uneasy. Isn’t it outdated to say Shaanxi is the Demonic Sect’s domain? We haven’t faced a single serious attack...”

“That’s misleading. It wasn’t dangerous because we were able to break through it.”

The young Daoist seated atop the carriage roof waved a book.

He wore a languid expression. Every now and then, he opened his mouth wide as though everything in the world were beneath his notice.

Yu Hyeon, the Mount Hua Hidden Dragon. He was Shaanxi’s most promising young swordsman, leading the group despite holding an absurdly high place in the sect hierarchy for his age.

“What kind of insight is this?”

Yu Hyeon ran his eyes over the words on the cover as though he were admiring an astonishing treasure anew.

Comprehensive Guide to Annihilating Evil Demons. It was a peerless manual that allowed his older martial nephews, whose Plum Blossom Sword Arts were clumsy despite their age, to cut down masters a level above them.

He muttered under his breath.

“It’s remarkably thorough. Not like that friend of mine at all. I still can’t believe something like this exists.”

“Martial Uncle, do you know the Master of the Martial Book?”

A white-clad swordsman walking beside him suddenly asked. Yu Hyeon answered casually.

They had already fought many fierce battles. They needed a brief chance to catch their breath, or they would collapse before arriving.

“Master told you, didn’t he? He’s my friend.”

“I asked whether you know him well. There is a difference in standing, isn’t there? The current Leader of Demon Wings can hardly still be called a Hidden Dragon...”

“You’re trying to get under my skin again? You dullards still have ten years before you can even become Plum Blossom Swordsmen. Keep your mouths shut.”

“Don’t worry. I’d rather kill myself than trade on our benefactor’s name. More importantly, I heard the Leader of Demon Wings suffered considerable injuries. I wonder whether he is all right...”

“Unnecessary concern. Your uninjured body would be worse off than that friend of mine after he’d been battered to pieces.”

Even their light conversation carried the spirit of Mount Hua’s rugged western peak. As they exchanged quiet jokes, an imperious voice suddenly rang out.

“That story.”

It came from above.

“Tell it again.”

The moment Yu Hyeon sharply raised his head, the sun was blocked out.

A woman stood atop a divine sword that seemed to absorb light itself, as though it had contained profound inner power for an immeasurably long time.

The aura of an unparalleled swordsman, wrought into an extraordinarily threatening form, stood out vividly. Her short gray hair brushed through the sunlight.

Yu Hyeon’s eyes widened.

“Sword Venerable... Spirit Sky Sword Ghost...!”

“Speak. I will not cut down one who has difficulty moving.”

Shadows lay across her face, smooth as a sword’s blade. Even her voice was gloomy.

“The recent affairs of the martial world have not gone as I wish.”

* * *

“It’s been a while, brat of the Jeong Family.”

He was a tall man. Seated in the place of honor among Wonpyeong One Sword Hall’s enormous stone seats, he raised a hand.

He looked like a scholar. His purple martial robe had been pressed to hang loosely like a literary man’s attire, yet no aura could be felt from him.

As though he had never revealed his presence in the first place, he had completely concealed his inner power.

His complexion was terribly pale. Anyone would have taken him for an invalid.

‘They said he inflicted fatal wounds on two Lords of the Thirteen Heavens.’

Jeong Yeon-shin could not gauge the Divine Sword Squad Leader’s internal injuries.

He could not imagine how grave they were. If people spoke of a recuperation site, then at the very least, they had to be comparable to his own injuries.

“I greet the Squad Leader.”

He clasped his hands before his direct superior.

The Divine Sword Squad Leader looked at his youngest subordinate with a pale face, as though he found him endearing.

“You returned in quite the style.”

“Pardon?”

“Every time I did it, I felt the urge to flee with the Body Movement Scripture. Yet there were always people naturally suited to it. It seems the current Leader of Demon Wings is one of them. Then again, that bloodline really is something.”

“What do you mean...?”

“Ah, so it’s nothing to you. You truly are made of different stuff. When I received the report of what you did in Shaanxi, I thought you were insane. It was an achievement even upper Black Uniform masters would hesitate to attempt.”

The Divine Sword Squad Leader spoke.

Jeong Yeon-shin only stood there blankly, unable to make sense of it.

“Our Seom-ye, don’t keep standing there. There’s no need to save that Dragon family bastard’s face.”

The girl seated directly before Jeong Yeon-shin turned around and called to him. Gripping the spear propped beside her stone seat’s armrest, she beckoned to Jeong Yeon-shin with her other hand as though patting him.

Even with the Squad Leader present, her presence was unmistakable. She was a supreme master who had wound back the years of her body to an almost absurd extent.

The Desolate Divine Spear, Ak Su-rim, smiled brightly.

“Bohyeol and So-yeon are waiting as well, but you’re the only one we came for. It was the Lord’s order.”

“Senior Ak. I’m glad you’re unharmed.”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s tone became a little more relaxed.

Ak Su-rim moved her spear playfully from side to side and grinned.

“You must be glad to see me. Or is it because I mentioned the Lord?”

A bold air clung to her short black hair as it rippled faintly, along with the immensely dense fluctuations of her inner power.

Yet she did not feel as overwhelmingly powerful as she once had. Jeong Yeon-shin thought that if he activated Ultimate Thunder, he might be able to exchange a few moves with her.

It was the first time he had entered Wonpyeong One Sword Hall with confidence in his own martial arts. Had he grown as much as he had learned humility?

‘Only for a very short time, but if luck is on my side, it may truly be worth trying...’

The Leader of Demon Wings tilted his head slightly.

No. Was it still too soon? Ultimate Thunder’s increase in martial power was so unusual that his judgment did not seem able to keep pace with it.

They said the world of masters widened like the horizon the higher one rose. The realm of Black Uniform, the stage just before Purple Uniform, was vast beyond measure.

There were supreme masters more than capable of acting as the heads of major factions.

Like Ak Su-rim, who curled her lips before him.

“Look at that. The top of my head just tingled.”

“What do you mean?”

Startled inwardly, Jeong Yeon-shin pretended not to understand.

Ak Su-rim narrowed her eyes with a strange smile.

“Weren’t you measuring me? I felt all of it.”

Black lightning seemed to flash in her eyes. To Jeong Yeon-shin, it was an extremely important moment.

The strongest candidate to become the next Divine Sword Squad Leader, the person Jeong Yeon-shin alone had marked as a rival, continued.

“Our Seom-ye doesn’t seem to know how intense his gaze is.”

“Senior Ak’s eyes are more...”

“Don’t act so sly. You’re such a cute little fox. Should I really make you my husband?”

She reached out. Her fingertips, which had been rising toward her junior’s head, lightly tapped his chest instead. Jeong Yeon-shin had grown far too tall for Ak Su-rim to reach his head now.

While the current Leader of Demon Wings felt an unfamiliar sense of accomplishment, Ak Su-rim snickered in amusement and flicked a finger.

“At this level, you’re fit to escort the Squad Leader. His body looks badly damaged, but... we won’t be setting out noisily. We’ll take a few subordinates with us as well.”

“I read Senior Ak’s official notice. Where is this recuperation site?”

“It was a letter, not an official notice. In any case, the Lord decided this after hearing about your condition. You’ll go with the Squad Leader to a recuperation site. Have you heard of the Heavenly Pillar Gate?”

“A sect solely for elves who keep far from the secular world... So it really exists.”

“You’ll recuperate there. You’ve pushed your body too hard.”

“I can still move.”

“You’re hiding the stiffness in your muscles and minor meridians, aren’t you? Your vital energy must have been damaged. You know you can’t fight at full strength after one fierce battle after another. Keep running without rest, and you’ll collapse.”

“...”

“Recover your body while undergoing closed-door cultivation. They’re a sect that guards an important trunk of the World Tree. There are many mysterious things there.”

“Closed-door cultivation...?”

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes lit up.

He had recently come to realize just how useful the training methods of wise martial artists could be.

He was tempted. His internal injuries had settled strangely since he woke, but as Ak Su-rim said, he needed to restore himself fully.

The Divine Sword Squad Leader, sprawled carelessly in his stone seat, waved a hand.

“Bring about four, including the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword. Mix in one or two White Uniforms as well. Yes, that should be enough. Ordinary Blue Uniforms stand out even in disguise.”

“Why Cheong Myeong, a Blue Uniform martial artist...?”

“The Heavenly Pillar Gate is the Blue-Eyed Demon Sword’s homeland. It’s a backwater even this Squad Leader doesn’t care for, but they may show a little courtesy if we bring someone from there.”

“Wouldn’t my current strength and four from Demon Wings be insufficient? Shouldn’t we make every preparation for the escort?”

At the calm question, the Divine Sword Squad Leader’s lips curved.

“I’m quite popular in the martial world. The leaders of major factions come to see me often, with their blades sharpened chillingly well.”

“Ah.”

“Seom-ye. Once you take my position in the near future, disguising yourself will become part of your daily life. You’ll often see the dreadful sight of Grandmasters from a single sect launching a combined attack against you. There’s never time to grow bored in the martial world. It’s dangerous. Very dangerous.”

Ak Su-rim shot a glare at the Divine Sword Squad Leader, who shook his head.

“That Dragon family bastard brought that on himself. The Lord of the Martial Dragon Society had no intention of being hostile in the first place. Anyone could tell just from hearing the story.”

“When you’re sitting with that pointy-eared bastard from Dark Night Hall, isn’t it right to strike first?”

“What would I ever say to you? In any case, Seom-ye, escorting the Divine Sword Squad Leader is certainly a mission, so you’ll receive merit for it. The Heavenly Pillar Gate is also famous for possessing the Moon-Guarding Piercing Art, one of the Five Great Palm Arts Under Heaven. Almost nothing is known about them, but... you’ll be able to broaden your knowledge.”

“The Five Great Palm Arts Under Heaven...”

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly remembered the Sword-Guarding Sovereign Palm used by that disciple of the Tyrant Sword Sect Master. It had not seemed like much.

Ak Su-rim continued as though she were chattering away.

“They’re an extremely exclusive sect. They keep very far from the secular world.”

“Should I think of it as a rural village with its own folk religion?”

“It’s worse than that. The most unpleasant elves under heaven have formed a village there. They accept none of the Central Plains’ civilization. Unless it’s the Lord, anyone who wishes to enter must demonstrate martial arts that did not exist in the Ming Dynasty. You’ll have no problem with that.”

Jeong Yeon-shin listened to her concise explanation.

The Heavenly Pillar Gate lay in northern Huguang. It was not terribly far from Desolate Fortress.

They were said to possess a lake imbued with powerful restorative properties. There were many other mysterious stories as well.

‘If it has restorative properties...’

It would be useful for stabilizing his body and drawing out his potential.

The current Leader of Demon Wings silently selected three more people after Cheong Myeong.

The wastrel Languid Flame Dragon, White Cat Shin So-bin, and Imperial Hero Hyeon Won-chang. They would travel to the Heavenly Pillar Gate with the Divine Sword Squad Leader.

“Once you return, the Chief Steward’s Office will have your mission rewards piled up. The Grand Chief Steward was smiling through cold sweat. He said a single payment would use up the equivalent of five years’ budget for an ordinary Black Uniform.”

Ak Su-rim smiled and tapped the armrest.

“The Heavenly Pillar Gate is a mysterious sect whose location is not widely known, so nothing should happen while you recuperate. Go and come back without a care. I must guard the main fortress. There are far too few people in the Divine Sword Squad these days.”

“There isn’t any especially bad news...?”

“No! There truly isn’t! Go with an easy mind!”

Jeong Yeon-shin immediately had to return and disguise himself.

* * *

Jeong Yeon-shin left the fortress gate with his direct superior, who could barely hold himself upright.

He brought four of his Demon Wings companions with him, and the journey was more comfortable than ever.

“What trouble did Languid Flame Dragon cause?”

“Me? This is the first I’ve heard of it... Why are you picking on me again?”

“The people at the main fortress were looking at me strangely...”

“They admire their young Squad Leader. Are your accomplishments this time not extraordinary?”

“They’re still lacking. Far from enough.”

“Of course. They’re still far from enough for our Squad Leader.”