WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 276: Inaction (4)
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It was just after storm-like heat wrapped around Languid Flame Dragon’s entire body.
Gi Geom-hyang closed the distance with a great advancing step and brought her sword down. The sword form meant to cleave its target in two twisted with uncanny precision.
A translucent wind rose along the blade like wildfire, but the roar of the gale unleashed by Languid Flame Dragon’s energy swallowed her sword resonance.
The Force Projection he had built up by twisting his own force waves and crashing them together rapidly swelled into the form of white flames.
Fwaaaash!
For an extremely brief instant, his senses permeated the culmination of the Seom-ye Martial Lineage.
“Radiant Art Formation, Flame River.”
Even in a spar, he announced the technique’s name through lip-speech. His pronunciation was slurred from chewing opium poppy.
Languid Flame Dragon’s hand moved through that instant.
The blazing solar qi that had surged beneath the white light of the Radiant Art Formation gathered in his palm.
The white storm of force waves was tremendously thick and dense. Gi Geom-hyang’s sword, backed by the formidable inner energy characteristic of masters of the elven race, was blocked by his palm.
A constant rasping sound rang out, like bundles of paper being torn apart.
The sword form that adapted to the opponent’s move and cut in with lethal precision was being broken apart.
The difference in their inner energy was unmistakable. Their qi storage had been unequal from the beginning, and he had also mastered a method for wielding martial power in its most explosive form.
The Huangbo Family’s eldest young master had grown stronger by following his Squad Leader.
“This is the essence of it.”
Languid Flame Dragon spoke.
“A secret art for ending battles quickly. It’s how our Squad Leader fights. I like it, personally. It’s damn refreshing. Go on. Experience it for yourself.”
“...!”
Gi Geom-hyang’s eyes widened. Her cool, composed gaze wavered amid the scattered sparks.
Languid Flame Dragon twisted his hand. The brief motion of striking the side of her blade carried the flow of the Radiant Art Formation.
The Force Projection accumulated in his grasp distorted the air, and at that instant, an unbearably hot shockwave erupted.
Claaang!
Fragments of white, translucent force scattered like feathers and swept through the air.
Within the dreamlike wind conjured by masters, a sword shot upward.
The blade Gi Geom-hyang had held was knocked from her hand. With a sharp whistle, it pierced the trunk of a nearby tree in an instant.
Only its hilt remained exposed.
Gi Geom-hyang’s arm had been flung upward.
Languid Flame Dragon held his palm before her solar plexus.
As shredded grass drifted down around them, he curled his lips.
“You felt the force waves accumulating, didn’t you? As long as your inner energy allows it, you can use it in linked forms. It isn’t some simple principle. It’s incredibly intuitive. A mnemonic formula that has mastered the art of ending fights quickly.”
“How is something like that possible?”
Gi Geom-hyang parted her lips. Unconcealed shock filled her once-stern face.
“You build upon and amplify force that has already been released...? I have never heard of such martial arts. Force Projection cannot be used in that manner. What sort of inner energy circulation does it have...?”
“They were martial arts originally created on the premise of a sensation unique under heaven. Our Squad Leader created them with his own hands.”
Languid Flame Dragon spoke with the corners of his mouth raised.
“But once they were gathered into one whole, they became easier to use with qi. They say even a monkey can do it? That wasn’t entirely wrong. Though there may have been some exaggeration to drive practitioners harder.”
“...”
“Since the creator of these martial arts has organized them into such an accessible whole, shouldn’t practitioners naturally discern and penetrate their true essence? This method is a tribute to our Grandmaster. Don’t compare it to the United Way Celestial Image Sword. Look at the completion of its forms.”
The mischievous voice of a genius under heaven filled the silence. It was a matter wholly removed from the realm of ordinary people.
This time, even the masters of the elven race from the Heavenly Pillar Gate could not hide their astonishment.
Some sank into thought with grave expressions. Others looked between Languid Flame Dragon and the Leader of Demon Wings, their brows furrowed in confusion.
At the rear of the sparring ground, only Jeong Yeon-shin wore a strange expression.
It was not an exaggeration.
Then Gi Geom-hyang, who had stood there blankly, brought both hands together beneath her navel. It was an unfamiliar posture, seemingly etiquette unique to her people.
“...I have lost. I acknowledge that the martial arts of the Leader of Demon Wings are a peerless technique rarely seen under heaven.”
“Honestly, this isn’t a martial art that needs any official recognition. This young master has acknowledged it. If it weren’t for your lake, we wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble. If its effects are lacking, I’ll spread word to every corner under heaven that the Heavenly Pillar Gate is nothing special.”
Languid Flame Dragon shook out his right hand and continued.
“Anyway, can our Squad Leader go bathe now? You’ve kept a guest who’s still growing at the entrance. And he isn’t in good condition, either.”
His Squad Leader was an interesting person in many ways.
Not long ago, Jeong Yeon-shin had offered him an incomparably precious fragment of Ice Essence, saying he had received it for free from the masters of the Ice Palace. He had done so as casually as if he were handing over sweets bought along the road.
It was conduct anyone would find difficult to understand. What was the point of buying the loyalty of a wretch with little time left to live?
It would have been far better to give it to a legitimate inheritor of martial arts such as Shin So-bin.
Since it had been offered, he swallowed it without hesitation, but it had no particular effect. It had only cooled the painful heat of his Sun God Meridian for a short time.
That was enough.
He had not expected anything from the beginning. Born to Jinan’s foremost prestigious family, he had been raised in great luxury.
Obtaining and learning yin qi martial arts should have been easy, yet the acupoints throughout his body had nearly burned through as though he had tried to defy heaven itself.
The mnemonic formulas offered by his seniors in Demon Wings had not been much better.
It simply made him feel awkward. It was something he had never experienced before.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have consumed it. He should have eaten it himself and lived a long, healthy life.’
Languid Flame Dragon put fresh opium poppy in his mouth and spoke again.
“Are you all mutes? Or did you never intend to let us in from the beginning?”
Cheong Bo-hwa shook her head as she stroked Gi Geom-hyang’s shoulder after she returned to the Heavenly Pillar Gate’s side.
“I am truly sorry, but this was never something we could decide immediately. The lake contains sap from the World Tree. Even if the outcome is clear, we must follow the proper procedure. Give us a little time.”
“You’re no less old-fashioned than the Nine Sects. No wonder people compare you so often.”
“Thank you for the compliment. I know what the Nine Sects mean under heaven. They were rare people who cultivated themselves with clarity.”
“Are you going to keep us standing here? Unlike you people, our Squad Leader grows quickly. This is an important time for his knees.”
“Be quiet.”
When Jeong Yeon-shin shoved Languid Flame Dragon aside and stepped forward, Cheong Bo-hwa smiled faintly.
“You won the spar through pure martial arts, so you are rightful guests of our sect. We will provide lodging. Please wait for the result of the gathering. Thank you for showing us such exceptional martial arts. We pay our respects to the Grandmaster.”
“I have broadened my own horizons as well. The United Way Celestial Image Sword was truly sharp. If anything, it made me feel the Radiant Art Formation’s shortcomings. I should reflect on how such a fluid trajectory could emerge.”
He assessed the United Way Celestial Image Sword without holding back.
It was not empty praise. Gi Geom-hyang’s sword handling was lacking for someone with that amount of qi storage. She wasted too many force waves in lateral strikes.
She drew sword paths as long as a fully grown monkey’s arm, yet there was an incomprehensible wavering to them.
‘The acromial muscle above her shoulder was not fixed firmly enough. Her upper arm muscles contracted at strange angles... Even the force-driving aura at the Tiantu acupoint beside her shoulder was too distorted. How does she use a sword like that?’
Her clumsy dexterity appeared passable only because she had trained in the United Way Celestial Image Sword.
The sword art had set the bar as low as a grub’s height. Anyone would inevitably look like a competent swordsman using it. It was an incredible martial art.
“You are truly humble, for someone who created such a supreme art.”
Cheong Bo-hwa marveled with the corners of her lips raised. Even the indifferent masters of the elven race lined up behind her now showed goodwill.
Languid Flame Dragon’s impressive display of the Radiant Art Formation seemed to have opened their hearts.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s shoulders squared slightly. So this was why people needed to be humble.
‘If Mother had not passed away, she would have taught me this.’
He parted his lips. This was a moment for him to negotiate as the leader of the group, but it was not difficult.
Hye-ah had recently given him a great realization. It was enough to speak sincerely.
“I hardly know what to do with such excessive praise. One should naturally be modest. The Heavenly Pillar Gate deserves respect.”
“I am curious about your bloodline. If you entered our village, I would even consider marrying you to one of our precious daughters. You must descend from a renowned family that has cultivated itself deeply. I am ignorant of worldly affairs and lack the eye technique to see further into you. It would be rude in any case, so I will not press the matter.”
“Self-cultivation... not at all. I can hardly bear such praise.”
Jeong Yeon-shin thought of his maternal grandfather’s fiery temperament and his uncle’s rough ways. Among the Ma Family, the only sensible people were himself and Ma Se-in.
It was regrettable, but it was the truth. No matter how precious they were to him, what was not true was not true.
Cheong Bo-hwa smiled broadly.
“Where did such a hero come from?”
Her expression was entirely different from the one she wore when looking at Cheong Myeong, her great-grandson.
Warmth flowed from the fine wrinkles around her softly curved eyes. It was unmistakable goodwill.
Cheong Myeong, who had stood like a translucent breeze beside the Leader of Demon Wings all this time, only smiled.
There was no sign that he felt left out. From time to time, his fingers twitched as though he wanted to tap the Squad Leader’s shoulder, but he never raised his hand.
Shin So-bin, Hyeon Won-chang, and the other Demon Wings masters tilted their heads with uncertain expressions.
“At least it worked out.”
Cheong Myeong murmured with a smile.
“Wasn’t it decent? I worked on it for quite a while.”
Languid Flame Dragon returned and abruptly spoke to Jeong Yeon-shin.
Flames seemed to flicker in his pitch-black eyes. It was the heat of a martial artist with little time left to live.
He looked like someone who would pursue the martial path even after death, reminding Jeong Yeon-shin of Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin. Only his easygoing smile was different.
Jeong Yeon-shin, who had stood there blankly, began walking at Cheong Bo-hwa’s gesture. At last, they were being treated as guests.
He parted his lips.
“I heard it earlier. Flame River?”
“I made it up casually.”
“Didn’t you take it from Radiant River?”
“Clear Qilin was my close friend. What does a name matter?”
“It matters. It matters greatly.”
“There’s no such phrase as ‘a great matter’ under heaven. Didn’t I say from the start that it was a tribute? Anyway, don’t pick at it just because you’re embarrassed. This is an excellent ultimate move. Radiant Art Formation, Flame River. Martial arts naturally gain the forms of their inheritors as they pass down through generations. That has already happened in its second generation. Isn’t it moving?”
“You gave that name to such a crude trick. You were folding and splicing force waves however you pleased. Cut back on the opium poppy, and it will improve.”
“Our Squad Leader still has not taken Miss Jeong Hye’s rebuke to heart. Adults do not speak that way. You should be modest.”
“...Carry the palanquin. We’re going in now.”
* * *
Permission came quickly.
Word arrived that the Leader of Demon Wings and the Divine Sword Squad Leader would be permitted to immerse themselves in the Heavenly Pillar Gate’s lake.
The Sihwa Boundless Fist and the Radiant Art Formation had received broad recognition. The elders of the Heavenly Pillar Gate had been watching the spar from the beginning.
The masters of the elven race in the village did not object.
He had heard that they were extremely closed-off, yet they only watched Jeong Yeon-shin with strange gazes from the trees where they had settled.
‘That’s a relief.’
Jeong Yeon-shin sighed inwardly.
“As expected of this Squad Leader’s rival. You have completed the mission splendidly. I am truly grateful.”
The Divine Sword Squad Leader praised him with a pale face.
They were alone. The injured transcendent walked with the support of his young subordinate.
One of the Heavenly Pillar Gate masters guided the way above them, leaping from branch to branch.
The sunset had already faded.
A full moon rose through the clouds, dyeing the forest bluish.
For a while, only the sound of bark scraping against bark echoed. At times, the wind brushed against the undergrowth.
The forest’s whispers rustled irregularly, carrying a peace far removed from the chaos of the martial world.
Then the Divine Sword Squad Leader spoke.
“I promised you before that I would teach you a martial art.”
“Yes, you did.”
It had happened just after the spar between the Namgung Family and Desolate Fortress.
The Divine Sword Squad Leader had killed the Namgung Family Head in a brief exchange, then found himself threatened by other major factions. Jeong Yeon-shin stabilized his qi and allowed him to put on a show of strength.
“I will teach it to you at the lake. Think of one.”
The Divine Sword Squad Leader spoke.
“Today?”
“Yes. We may clash with Dark Night Hall, and because this Squad Leader has the broader vessel, I will recover more slowly than you. If a battle breaks out, you will have to take the lead. Another weapon would be useful. They are extremely troublesome and frightening bastards.”
Jeong Yeon-shin thought for a moment before speaking.
“I would like martial arts born from a unique inspiration. Rather than something with an outstanding level of completion... do you have anything like that?”
“Oh?”
A deep smile appeared along the Divine Sword Squad Leader’s delicate-looking jaw.
He had the air of a hearty scholar, yet a rainbow of emotions flickered in his pitch-black eyes.
Curiosity, boredom, fatigue, interest, surprise, delight...
The swordsman contending for the title of strongest under heaven hid nothing.
“Yes. Now I understand the level you are looking for.”
Footnotes:
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