WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 280: Inaction (8)
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It was just after Bong Gong closed his eyes.
A pale shockwave burst in a long line from the edge of the snow-covered peak.
Paaang!
Snow swept up in one enormous straight line. It was the aftermath of a leap with lightness skill. Bong Gong’s subordinates, who had formed the formation, reacted immediately.
“Cross formation! First group, draw swords! Second group, nock arrows!”
“Attack! Don’t die for nothing!”
The ten drew their respective swords or arrows.
The sound of long, ash-gray hands cutting through the air rose sharply.
Their faces showed great alarm, as though they had never been intercepted by someone using lightness skill, but the cold aura spreading from their bodies revealed the skill of martial artists from the Thirteen Heavens.
They were Dark Night Hall disciples who possessed archery arts capable of subduing enemies even at close range.
Swish.
Jeong Yeon-shin turned without drawing his sword.
Perhaps he had reached a level where even warriors trained in major sects rarely caught his eye. Drawing his sword again felt awkward.
‘How much longer will the Squad Leader need to recuperate?’
His body was now close to perfect condition. He had never felt so light in his life.
The lake’s mysterious power had healed him quickly. It was thanks to the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s Moon Spirit Harmonization Formula resonating with it.
It had melded into the light wheel more deeply than he had expected. Thanks to Cheong Myeong’s younger brother, he had reached the point of manifesting a new lightness skill.
It was something to be grateful for. Thinking of the Lord of Desolate Fortress made his heart itch.
‘It has been a long time since I last saw the Lord of Desolate Fortress.’
Then, from above him,
“What was that? What was that just now?”
A beautiful shadow descended, pushing aside the starlight.
The hem of her bright red clothing fluttered like bat wings in the night air, while her ideally balanced body, befitting a supreme master, spread bewitching aura.
The Seventh Apostle’s appearance was that natural.
Fwoooosh!
Reddish air gathered into a strange shape over her left hand.
It folded and whirled on its own, gathering force before transforming into an exquisite flow of force waves. The air tore apart as though screaming.
It happened in an instant.
The Seventh Apostle set one foot down, then the other, in the middle of the peak.
Crunch.
Then she swung her left hand as though brushing away a trivial fly, and red curtains billowed in all directions.
It was overwhelming Force Projection driven by inner energy. Her power swept through the surroundings like a garment made of blades.
Slaaash!
Blood burst everywhere. Ten corpses, split clean through their bones, scattered across the ground in pieces.
“You little pests are so noisy.”
The bloodstains splashed across the snow spread like rose dye.
Standing upon the white and red ground, the Seventh Apostle raised the corners of her lips.
Her gaze had remained fixed on Jeong Yeon-shin. It had been the same even at the moment she attacked.
“What was that lightness skill? I hesitated when I came to help. Even Apostles were wary of Ten Miles, One Kill.”
Jeong Yeon-shin watched her for a moment.
He had grown accustomed to the Seventh Apostle tracking him.
Since something like this no longer felt especially strange, he recalled something else.
The change in her.
Her Force Projection had become even more refined. Even the density of her power had risen another level.
It meant her martial arts themselves had grown stronger.
What kind of battle had she experienced since he had last seen her? Perhaps the Two-Flame Blood Spirit Formation had opened in Shaanxi because she had truly slaughtered some of the Blood Flame Sect’s clans.
She looked like a madwoman obsessed with martial arts, one who had honed herself under the finest conditions.
‘Still, I think I could win now. In a direct confrontation.’
He thought.
Each martial art that reached completion was turning Jeong Yeon-shin into a stronger martial artist.
There were fewer situations in which he needed to fear for his survival in a one-on-one battle.
Unless one of the few peerless masters in the martial world arrived in person, or a major sect deliberately resorted to underhanded methods, little could threaten him. The world was vast and perilous, yet that remained true.
It was the same now.
He faced an Apostle of the Blood Flame Sect, yet he felt no tension at all.
He could only see the Seventh Apostle as a person.
Strong, beautiful, and mad.
“Hm?”
After staring at Jeong Yeon-shin strangely for a moment, she tilted her head slightly.
“Anyway... it was a lightness skill like yours, a martial art that drew constellations. It deserves to be seen by my eyes alone.”
“You came at a good time.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke as he quietly watched her.
“I said I would repay you. Don’t run away.”
“Don’t run away?”
The Seventh Apostle’s body trembled.
Her curved lips seemed to brighten.
Jeong Yeon-shin furrowed his brow.
“No. Only while I’m repaying you.”
At once, the expression vanished from the Seventh Apostle’s face.
“Repay me? Aren’t you just throwing me something for appearances’ sake? You want to ease the feeling of being indebted. No, no. Something without your heart in it can’t repay me. There’s something more important to me now than the Mara True Blood Art.”
“I can’t repay the favor of saving my uncle, Demon Wings, and the Returning Wings Squad with empty formalities. You saved my life as well. I want to settle an old debt of gratitude and resentment.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke blankly while swallowing his shock.
His mnemonic formula had been rejected completely.
He found himself thinking that Ultimate Thunder was probably better than Dull Flowers Gather at the Crown.
“I can’t believe it. You always pushed me away, unlike Miss Ye.”
The Seventh Apostle spoke tonelessly.
Her pale face carried a coldness like snow spread across a ridgeline, revealing her impossible-to-grasp nature.
“You say you didn’t disguise empty formalities as sincerity? Prove it.”
Crunch.
The snow gave a low sound as she stepped forward.
She began to approach him slowly, her footsteps crunching.
Someone with deadly martial arts was closing the distance. No master would welcome that.
Jeong Yeon-shin stood still and measured the distance.
Then he fell into thought.
What did he need to do to avoid becoming like his father?
He would have to treasure not only blood relations, but also sect bonds as dear as blood ties.
That meant he had to face the debts of gratitude and resentment binding them with a clear conscience.
Crunch, crunch.
The distance between him and the Seventh Apostle narrowed.
The Desolate Fortress’s black robe and the Blood Flame Sect’s Pure Blood Robe drew close.
Five steps, seven steps...
The quiet sound of snow being crushed filled the night air. Her eyes grew so wide that they seemed like red gemstones. Jeong Yeon-shin did not move.
He watched heat writhe across her pale face and in the distinctive gleam of a supreme master’s eyes.
Before he realized it, she stood right before him.
Rustle.
Their clothes brushed in the wind. Their collars touched.
She was too close. He could feel the pulse beating in her neck. Jeong Yeon-shin barely restrained himself from striking.
He could not become like his heartless father. The Seventh Apostle would not harm him.
Looking back, she had always been that way.
‘You can’t treat a benefactor coldly. You have to embrace her as you would Mother.’
The Jeong Family Youth Technique was the foundation of the current Leader of Demon Wings. The moment he denied the essence of its mnemonic formula here, he instinctively sensed that he would face a contradiction when gaining insight into the realm of peerless mastery.
It was important even if he ultimately died young.
He had to be able to speak proudly of his short life at any time.
One day, his life would become a story he told his mother.
Then his ear suddenly tickled.
It was because of a breath tinged with bewitching laughter.
At the same time.
Four sharp teeth and a soft foreign sensation pressed against him. It was cold, yet warm.
The Seventh Apostle had bitten the back of his neck.
Her thin breath broke into tiny fragments between the fine hairs there, accompanied by the touch of her slightly parted lips.
How was she enduring the dharma power dwelling within the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel?
‘What is she doing?’
A powerful surge of energy rose from Jeong Yeon-shin’s clenched hand.
Radiant River, whose core was always active, stood ready to explode at any moment.
Crunch.
At the same time, the Seventh Apostle stepped back.
A red smile rested on her lips.
“You were sincere. My adorable Grand Preceptor.”
Jeong Yeon-shin furrowed his brow.
“Was that a provocation to take my neck with martial arts? Even if you try essence absorption, dharma power will overcome you.”
“I don’t use the Star-Absorbing Method. I was born with talents as noble as yours. Can’t you tell just by measuring my qi storage? I’m probably no worse than that Huangbo wretch you took as a subordinate.”
“Don’t call someone a wretch so casually.”
He warned her.
It was conduct only the Leader of Demon Wings could display.
The Seventh Apostle did not seem to care about the rebuke. She merely brushed back the hair that fell like ebony.
“Your life, your talent, and your nature all resemble a comet. You’re so noble and lofty that you can barely hide it.”
She said, “This mission is almost over, isn’t it? I’m going to follow you around.”
It was hard to believe.
A powerful combatant had announced that she would join him. It was not something to welcome.
He would be fortunate if his seniors did not execute her.
Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head.
“The Divine Sword Squad Leader will soon recover. If you don’t want to die, stay away.”
“Then I’ll wait in Xiangyang.”
“Are you a layabout?”
“No. I have things to do wherever I go. Just wait a little.”
The Seventh Apostle whispered.
Madness showed through her smooth smile. A fleetingly cold killing intent also appeared.
Come to think of it, the Blood Flame Sect had more branches spread across the world than it had Apostles.
Jeong Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly.
Surely not.
“And.”
Her lips moved.
“As for that lightness skill, the Rakshasa Ground-Shortening of our sect, no, the Blood Flame Sect, is quite close to a divine art. Your lightness dash was perfect, but if you withdraw the Absorption Formula more quickly when lifting your back foot, you’ll be able to use it a little longer. I came to tell you that. You’ll be able to do it right away.”
It was exceptionally valuable advice.
The Apostles were renowned throughout the world for their elusive Body Movement Scripture.
Thoughts and subtleties that Jeong Yeon-shin could not devise in a short time had accumulated over many years. They were enough to refine the lightness skill born beneath winter starlight.
He shook his head as though it meant nothing.
“Presumptuous words. Leave now, Seventh Apostle of the Blood Flame Sect.”
“I’ll stay a little longer. Shall we watch the constellations together? Your lightness skill might become even faster.”
“You told me about the Mara True Blood Art’s Governing Vessel formula in Shaanxi. Preserve Blood, Warm Essence. In contrast, the mental image brushing against the Conception Vessel must be cold. It follows a different path from the Governing Vessel’s mnemonic formula...”
“Aaah! Don’t!”
The Seventh Apostle covered her ears and screamed.
“I said I’d kill you! I’m going to kill you, but I’m not going to kill you!”
Her bright red clothes fluttered wildly, as incoherent as her words.
Rakshasa Ground-Shortening.
Strange aura scattered the snow in every direction. Faint blood-colored light flickered around the Seventh Apostle’s legs.
Movement-enhancing power surged within and around her, then her body kicked off the ground and tore through the distant sky in an instant.
Fwoooosh!
Her red figure vanished among the stars.
After creating a lightness skill himself, the Body Movement Scripture looked different to him.
She had told him to withdraw the Absorption Formula, which transferred impact properly into the ground, more quickly.
“Nothing special.”
Jeong Yeon-shin muttered like a monk who had driven away an evil spirit.
She said she would keep following him?
His brows rose slightly.
The words of the Mount Hua sect leader had suddenly come to mind.
The Spirit Sky Sword Ghost of the Heart Martial Union had been following him as well.
The master of the flying sword that had created a decisive opening against the Tyrant Sword Sect’s Ghost-Spirit Divine Sword.
‘It was when I was refining the Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art.’
Had she developed a grudge after losing their wager?
Did she intend to settle things with her own hands in a fair contest of martial arts?
They said that was usually how martial artists thought.
Three powers of the Thirteen Heavens were already working together to eliminate him. More and more eyes were turning toward the Leader of Demon Wings.
The Lord of Dark Night Hall, who had supposedly suffered a serious injury from the Divine Sword Squad Leader, would not simply overlook Jeong Yeon-shin either.
There was also the eldest young master of the Heart Martial Union, whose betrothed had been taken from him by the current Leader of Demon Wings.
The young master of a major faction said to command a powerful army of martial artists.
‘That isn’t all. There must be more.’
Jeong Yeon-shin glanced at the scattered corpses and turned away.
Crunch.
A thick clump of snow was crushed beneath his leather shoes.
Yet something else felt as though it were beneath his feet.
It was a thunderclap bomb formed from debts of gratitude and resentment, one that could explode in any form and at any time.
He was gradually advancing toward the heart of the martial world.
* * *
When he returned to the Heavenly Pillar Gate, he received strange looks.
The moment he entered the formation, warm air wrapped around his entire body, along with gazes like dew gathered in the village’s thickets.
“I never thought of a way to break Ten Miles, One Kill like that. I offer limitless thanks to the current Leader of Demon Wings.”
“The village’s fear has largely been dispelled. How can we repay you...?”
Masters of the elven race descended from the towering trees.
It was difficult to find any sign of their former indifference, when they had looked down on the Desolate Fortress party with the impassivity of old trees.
They simply surrounded their benefactor in a crowd.
Jeong Yeon-shin checked on his companions first.
Cheong Myeong, who had been shunned at the Heavenly Pillar Gate, parted the crowd and approached him.
Cheong Myeong wore a deeply moved expression.
“It feels like only yesterday that I taught you the clan’s movements, but now you’ve gained all three forms of Body Movement Scripture. Footwork, movement arts, and lightness skill.”
“I named it Ten Miles of Deep Light.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke as a Squad Leader.
Cheong Myeong, now Jeong Yeon-shin’s subordinate, parted their lips slightly before a faint smile touched them.
“It seems the sect leader has gone to prepare a tremendous gift in return... I want to give you something as well.”
“The Chief Steward’s Office at the main fortress said it would prepare rewards for my achievements in Shaanxi. We’ll return once the Squad Leader recovers.”
The Leader of Demon Wings gave the order.
By then, something strange had begun to enter his voice.
Something characteristic of those who stood alone in the martial world.
A breeze suddenly brushed past the grass, lightly stirring the end of his jet-black long robe.
Ssssh.
The hem that had brushed the ground when he was promoted now fluttered at his ankles.
Its black hue had deepened compared to before.
Footnotes:
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