WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 292: Lotus (11)
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“...”
Silence fell for a moment.
The expressions of the martial noble families who had come to visit the wandering martial artist Geom Un-bi changed in various ways.
Some raised their brows as though doubting their ears, while others nodded, thinking that one would need such martial prowess to justify such arrogance.
There were also masters who showed anger on behalf of the Gwi Family Head. They focused on the gap in status between a wandering martial artist and a noble family.
All of them had lived as martial noble families, like mountain gods among common folk.
However they reacted to anyone’s words, they were figures whom Shanxi’s martial world naturally accepted.
“Surely he was not speaking to the Gwi Family Head? Calling him dust?”
“That is taking it too far. The issue is not that, but his attitude. The Gwi Family Head addressed him courteously, and he answered with a mutter to himself. He is far too insolent. No matter how strong a wandering martial artist may be, what can he accomplish alone?”
“Say whatever you like. This one came to exchange pleasantries.”
Though there were differences in martial prowess between regional martial worlds, the noble families were generally clear-eyed.
They had not rushed here blindly after witnessing a powerful outpouring of aura.
Countless people had come after judging his standing and temperament, weighing who he was and how they ought to deal with him.
Recruitment, persuasion, a discussion of the sword, friendship...
The expressions of the Gongya siblings standing to one side of the crowd looked different from usual.
Gongya Jeong, the eldest daughter, revealed her unease as she smoothed her neat sleeves. Gongya Su, the Second Young Master, lowered his sharp gaze in admiration.
“Sect Leader Geom has made enemies. What should we do about this...?”
“But that aura just now was Brother Geom’s, right? How can that even be possible? It is absurdly powerful. I knew he was strong, but I never imagined he was that strong.”
“Brother Geom?”
“He is far more skilled than I am, and his manner of speaking and appearance are both impressive. At a glance, he seems like someone raised in comfort, yet he has this strangely rough air about him... Are all wandering martial artists like that? I never thought someone would act that way before the Gwi Family Head!”
“Quiet. That will not help Sect Leader Geom.”
Gongya Jeong calmly rebuked her brother.
Worry gathered around her eyes. Geom Un-bi had gifted her martial techniques, and she wanted to repay that favor with an achievement worthy of it.
She had thought her own accomplishments would be the issue. She had not expected trouble to arise for Geom Un-bi.
‘It makes sense. How could he feel kindly after hearing Gwi Il-tae’s abuse...?’
Many had seen it at the banquet.
The Gwi Family Head’s son had spoken of Geom Un-bi’s origins to his face.
He had called him lowborn, then told him that since he had come as a guest, he should serve the eldest daughter properly.
Since he had heard such words at a banquet attended by many of those present here, the Gwi Family Head’s haughty attitude could easily seem overbearing now.
Then it happened.
“Only the leaders remain.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke abruptly.
This was a massive mission requiring the combined attack of three Black Uniforms.
He intended to make more thorough, bolder preparations.
The ground beneath his feet no longer felt like the Gongya Family estate. It felt as though he stood upon Immortal Dragon Jegal Hyeon’s fan. Ordinary preparations would not be enough to finish off an absolute master of sorcery arts and martial arts.
The leaders of Shanxi’s noble families at the front glanced behind them.
They had just witnessed the terrifying aura of Geom Un-bi, Sect Leader of the Huangcheon Sect. None seemed eager for innocent casualties among their followers.
The younger generation, including the Gongya siblings, and several servants quickly withdrew.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again.
“Follow me.”
It sounded close to an order.
Yet it suited him as though it were clothing tailored to fit.
At the same time, the huge body of the Shanxi Gwi Family Head jerked violently. He looked enraged beyond endurance.
“You insolent wretch! Your arrogance has gone too far! Do you know who you are speaking to?! Your martial prowess may be formidable for a mere wanderer, but that does not permit such rudeness!”
His voice was thunderous, as though he were tearing apart the night air.
The cultivated power deeply concealed below his navel beneath that iron armor was remarkable, befitting the Family Head of a prestigious clan whose voice could shake an entire city.
Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.
Whoosh!
As he silently extended his hand, a fierce current of air swept past the threshold.
A pitch-black long robe rose into the air on its own.
As the cloth rustled, the character for Desolation appeared here and there on the sleeve drifting through the air.
“Do I still look like a wandering martial artist to you?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked quietly as he caught the hem of the Black Uniform.
At the same time, two black robes appeared behind Shanxi’s noble families, billowing broadly.
* * *
The Black Uniform seniors had come after seeing the youngest release his aura.
The Divine Sword Squad Deputy Leader, the Leader of Demon Wings, and the Blood Guard Squad Leader.
The three masters of Wonpyeong One Sword Hall had gathered in a distant land. To martial noble families far removed from Huguang, it was enough to make them tremble.
Indeed, they kept their mouths shut as they carefully watched the three figures.
“Leave them be.”
The moment she sat around a table in the annex with Jeong Yeon-shin and Jin Myeong-jo, Ak Su-rim spoke. At the same time, she surrounded them with a dense, colorless aura barrier like a curtain.
Ak Su-rim continued.
“The operation is blown.”
“Pardon?”
“I think the Zhuge Family Head knows. No, it would be more accurate to say he prepared for this from the beginning. Bohyeol found a formation medium around the martial arts arena.”
“I see.”
“You are not surprised? Seom-ye, are you angry? You seem different from usual.”
“It is a private matter. Let us discuss the mission first.”
“Mm... all right.”
Ak Su-rim gave a small shrug.
Jin Myeong-jo, who had been seated somewhat closer to her, felt his hand tremble slightly at his junior’s words.
That gesture gave Jeong Yeon-shin a small measure of comfort. Senior Divine Blood Extreme Demon treated his junior’s affairs as his own.
“The Fist Exemplar and the Zhuge Family Head together are close to invincible. There are martial artists whose power rises sharply the moment they launch a combined attack. It happens because their martial arts complement each other well. Those two are the same. Horrifyingly so.”
“Then we separate them.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered Ak Su-rim calmly.
There was no other way.
They said formations wielded by a Grandmaster of sorcery arts and martial arts rivaled a divine art.
The Zhuge Family Head’s aim was to sift the worthy from the worthless at the martial arts tournament.
He would have prepared measures to tolerate no variables. There was no reason to fight within the domain of such a peerless master.
“Look at our Seom-ye, so confident. Right! If we are going to face them properly, we need to deal with the Fist Exemplar first.”
“Then...”
“Bohyeol and I will stop that Zhuge bastard. Bohyeol’s aura sense has an enormous range. We will buy time somehow. Well, perhaps before you even arrive...”
She deliberately drew out her words and winked.
“My spear may already be through his head.”
“Understood.”
“More importantly, what really happened? Tell this older sister everything.”
“Yes, Grandmother.”
As night deepened, their quiet conversation continued.
It was a discussion that would soon turn Shanxi’s martial world upside down.
* * *
The sun stood high in the sky.
Clear sunlight completely filled the winter air.
“From this moment onward, this place is the cradle of martial arts!”
A rough voice carrying qi spread far and wide.
It was an exaggerated introduction for a martial arts tournament of young martial artists, but with crowds packed densely around the arena, it sounded convincing enough.
At the center of the martial arts arena, a middle-aged man in white scholar’s robes led the proceedings.
“Shanxi’s distinguished figures have called for fair contests! Countless young masters who will broaden your horizons have submitted their names. Witness today’s splendid matches with your own eyes, then spread word of them throughout the realm without omission!”
Enormous cheers filled the surroundings.
“Waaaaah!”
The vast hillside of Hyeongpyeong Mountain in Lu’an Prefecture, Shanxi.
Though the arena had been hastily constructed and even the location and schedule had abruptly changed, hundreds had gathered.
Most looked as though they could live comfortably even through a famine. Silk clothes, sedan chairs, carriages, and fine horses filled the area.
For those with wealth, the movements of martial noble families were their foremost concern.
Grudges between the strong and the balance of power directly affected commercial interests, land, and shop ownership.
“The one who will open this tournament is...”
The man in scholar’s robes drew out his words.
At once, the awnings surrounding the edge of the martial arts arena shook violently.
The young members of the noble families gathered to raise their martial prowess and reputations unleashed their presence.
It mingled with the strong wind blowing through the mountain ridges, producing a great disturbance.
Just as many among the crowd gasped at the sight...
Whoosh! Boom!
The center of the arena caved in. White light flickered over branching cracks that split outward with a groan.
It was a wave of power that shattered the auras of the inexperienced youths surging in every direction.
The instant the figure who had suddenly descended straightened, cries of shock rose from all sides.
“Hero Eon...!”
“The Fist Exemplar has arrived!”
“Hero Eon, the Fist Exemplar...? Surely...”
“The First Fist of the Eon Family! It is the First Fist of the Eon Family!”
The listening crowd erupted into wild cheers. They were far louder than when they had heard the tournament’s opening declaration.
Some gathered near the arena stopped shouting and covered their ears.
Eon Hwa-ryeon soon spoke.
“I have come to avenge my defeat.”
Her voice cut straight through the enormous uproar.
The power contained within it was of an entirely different level.
As silence spread over the area, she spoke again.
“There is no trap. Crouching Dragon Rebirth will not come. He had to carry out other plans to keep the Martial Alliance from reaching into Shanxi. I alone am here. I swear this on the martial arts I have cultivated throughout my life.”
“Hero Eon...?”
The scholar overseeing the tournament cautiously approached her.
The Gongya Family Head, who had been seated beneath an awning, urgently leaped over using the Body Movement Scripture, grabbed the scholar by the back of the collar, and yanked him away.
Whoosh.
The backwash from the Body Movement Scripture stirred a brief gust. Eon Hwa-ryeon’s short black hair fluttered beneath her nape.
“Gongya Family Head.”
“Hero Eon.”
“I have been in your debt while in Shanxi. I received much help in this foreign place.”
“I was happy to broaden my own horizons.”
“As much as possible, do not become entangled with the Gwi Family. It would also be best not to form a deep relationship with Crouching Dragon Rebirth. A martial lineage that reaches out for outside help loses the spirit unique to that lineage... I learned that too late.”
“...”
“A middling sect like the Gongya Family should bow just enough and walk alone just enough. If you struggle to imitate those who stand alone above the martial world, you will tear your legs apart. Like that one, for example.”
Eon Hwa-ryeon slightly turned and nodded forward.
Step.
A Black Uniform figure lightly ascended the arena and approached with graceful bearing.
Standing tall at the border between boyhood and youth, he carried an indescribable presence.
He was the one she had to face.
“So that is the Sect Leader of the Huangcheon Sect. They say he reached the realm of a master at such a young age despite being a wandering martial artist.”
“Hero Eon has been defeated by him?”
“I saw them exchange moves before. They appeared evenly matched at a glance, but...”
The whispers around them thickened.
The supreme masters paid no mind to any of it as they faced one another.
The Gongya Family Head, who had been studying Geom Un-bi, Sect Leader of the Huangcheon Sect, with a complicated gaze, withdrew with the scholar-robed man.
“The Zhuge Family Head is not coming?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked.
Eon Hwa-ryeon nodded.
“No. It is because I did not tell him about you. Crouching Dragon Rebirth has laid his own preparations along every path he will take. He has finished preparing to ensure that anyone from Desolate Fortress is defeated and killed, so he has no need to tie himself to a schedule. That is what it means to be a truly transcendent master. You must remember this.”
“...The Gwi Family’s people fled. How could he not suspect me?”
“They were killed without anyone noticing. It seems to have been the work of the Owol Grand Slaughter Sect... but this is not the time to discuss that. I do not know the details either.”
It was the sect of the Slayer Hero, a name always mentioned when speaking of the martial arts tournament’s winner.
After a moment of silence, Jeong Yeon-shin asked again.
“What is your purpose?”
“I no longer wish to continue. Crouching Dragon Rebirth has lost his dignity. The one I loved was a scholar grieving for his lost wife, not an absolute master who threw away his life for a greater cause and fell into ruin.”
Eon Hwa-ryeon’s calm voice swept over the arena on the winter wind.
Regret could be heard within it, along with fighting spirit that seemed to dryly cut into the skin.
‘She is sincere.’
He felt it even without assessing her through his upper dantian.
Now, it was the surroundings that concerned him rather than her. Many powerful families here looked down on wandering martial artists.
Shanxi rabble who commanded dozens of disciples as though wielding dozens of flying swords.
There were many unfamiliar faces. Leeches of the martial world. They had come directly here without ever visiting the Gongya Family.
‘Insignificant dust.’
From the perspective granted by standing upon Immortal Dragon’s fan, he sensed their presences.
Did they think in terms of famine profits rather than a martial artist’s honor? The auras stirring beneath the awnings seemed desperate to aid Eon Hwa-ryeon.
They were dust that had swallowed spiritual medicine, so they would probably sting his nostrils if they entered his nose.
Few here had not sought connections with the Zhuge Family Head.
He had feared that his movements might be restricted, but now was the time to find freedom through his status, to ensure no one dared interfere.
Swish.
Jeong Yeon-shin placed his left hand, which emerged through the gap of his sleeveless robe, on his right forearm.
The texture was soft. It was a strip of cloth wrapped around his arm in another layer.
Rip!
He tore it off in one great motion. The cloth in his grasp was pulverized by a force wave and rapidly shortened.
At the same time, the presences stirring in every direction began to quiet one by one.
Only a very few did so. Most instead sprang to their feet.
“What is that? What is happening?”
“It is the character for Desolation!”
“That! That...!”
“The Leader of Demon Wings, Jeong Yeon-shin.”
Fragments of silk gleamed with their distinctive smooth texture as they scattered upward.
As tiny white gleams crumbled away, Jeong Yeon-shin moved his lips amid the shimmering light.
“I accept the Fist Exemplar’s challenge.”
Footnotes:
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