WeTried Translations

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 324: Shaking Heaven (3)

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Yeo-ui Cheon Ju, Bukgung A.

Her sharply defined features were white as snow. Leaning casually against a chunk of marble, she stretched out exceptionally long legs. Her arms, bent at ease, were just as long.

She had been born with a body made for battle. Colorless force waves from her Leg Arts flickered even around her knees.

Her surname was Bukgung.

She came from the north, where most clans were said to be bold and open-hearted. Her bloodline was said to descend from a noble royal house.

Publicly known as one of the Three Black Uniform Masters, she was among Desolate Fortress's highest-ranking figures. She was famous for being unable to sleep anywhere in the main fortress except Wonpyeong One Sword Hall, though one or two odd habits hardly made her stand out.

She possessed countless compulsions, and her martial prowess and achievements were immense.

Humility was far from her nature. She possessed the self-love and pride of the Great Wall in the north.

She was not someone who would examine another person's martial arts. For Yeo-ui Cheon Ju to read the Leader of Demon Wings' secret manual was an occurrence close to the extraordinary within Desolate Fortress.

That made its implications all the greater. It was difficult to dismiss it as a whim of hers alone. The circumstances had to be considered.

Martial-world lineages rising throughout the land because of the famine.

The Thirteen Heavens, which might be united under Yeoryeong's guidance.

The countless small and medium Demonic Sect factions scattered beneath the Thirteen Heavens.

The Eight Great Families, whose pursuit of their own interests had reached an extreme.

The hundreds of martial noble families across the land forming the Martial Alliance in response to Desolate Fortress's refusal to distinguish between orthodox and unorthodox sects.

And... the White Uniforms, Blue Uniforms, and some Black Uniforms of Desolate Fortress, falling in lands surrounded by enemies and closing their eyes forever.

The longer these troubled times continued, the more the hems of Desolate Fortress's white, blue, black, and purple robes faded.

Most martial artists treated them as enemies and never offered aid. Those who worked to provide relief, like the Nine Great Sects, were few compared to the vast land.

A monstrous crisis was steadily taking shape.

Desolate Fortress was clearly being driven into a corner. Squad Leaders who continued to earn victory after victory had become exceedingly rare.

'Yeo-ui Cheon Ju and Squad Leader So-yeon are examining Yeon-shin's secret manual? Is it because the situation around the main fortress has worsened so quickly? Are even the Black Uniforms held in reserve studying a junior's martial arts because they need to add whatever strength they can...?'

Ma Se-in forced himself to swallow again. Resentment had just surged up his throat.

He disliked how they had spoken of his friend Jeong Yeon-shin as though he were some Heavenly Demon. Calling him that went too far.

He had to endure it.

Though Desolate Fortress's Squad Leaders did much to stabilize the lives of the people, their personalities varied wildly.

Some were the very image of an orthodox sect, while others were like butchers who were kind only to common folk.

Yeo-ui Cheon Ju was closer to the latter.

'No, is Yeon-shin the same...?'

Ma Se-in forcefully pushed aside the question that naturally followed.

Jeong Yeon-shin was also exceptionally favorable toward Desolate Fortress's people. He was somewhat different from the nearly mad Yeo-ui Cheon Ju.

"He's an interesting one, isn't he?"

Those were Bukgung A's words after she had thoroughly read the book.

Her expression was strange as she lifted her head. Both cheeks were ever so slightly flushed, though the furrow between her brows remained unchanged.

Ma Se-in clasped his hands politely, unable to hide his displeasure.

Even Bukgung A could not easily subdue the pride in the Ma Family's blood. Bukgung A tilted her head slightly, her lips curling as though she found him laughable.

"You said the current Leader of Demon Wings is in Shanxi, right? I hear some of the assassins over there occasionally seize targets, toss them a copper coin, and say they'll spare them if they correctly call heads or tails. They call it their own brand of elegant amusement."

"...?"

"Seom-ye is no different from that coin. He's an utter bastard. To ignorant underlings, it might look like the conduct of a Grandmaster whose thoughts are difficult to fathom... but he laid out countless paths forward, from the third step to the fourth and fifth, then handed them nothing but the second step. Anyone who realizes that can see the martial art from front to back. A dullard, though, will only diligently practice those two steps."

Squad Leader So-yeon, who had been standing still, suddenly flinched.

Clack.

Bukgung A closed the book, and her body rose into place on its own.

The principles of Remote Object Manipulation had seeped into her movement technique with complete freedom. At a glance, she barely looked human.

"Does he think everyone is like him? I can't tell whether he means for them to figure things out from the third step onward, whether he himself could not advance beyond that point, or whether he does not even expect the dullards in the main fortress to reach that far. There are also far too many martial principles omitted here and there, as arrogantly as you please..."

"Isn't that a little excessive?"

It seemed Ma Ung, standing behind him, was the only one who properly heard Ma Se-in's courageous remark.

As the Ma Family guard fidgeted anxiously, Bukgung A turned back to Squad Leader So-yeon. Her black eyes blazed, her expression nearly mad.

"I like how straightforward it is. Anyone with even a speck of talent will find it useful right away. It annoyed me that the underlings kept getting beaten around and dying outside, but with this, they'll at least be able to throw their weight around. You agree too, Uncle So-yeon?"

"...Didn't you say you would examine the body shaped by the Jeong Family Youth Technique? That was why you called the Ma Family child here."

Squad Leader So-yeon spoke bluntly. Her answer came at once.

"I've already seen it. That cannot be imitated."

Bukgung A's face instantly turned serious. The shift in expression was like a swift sword.

"That current Leader of Demon Wings is insane over martial arts. You can see, just by examining the aura, that he constructed it with the precision of a madman. He infused his entire body with a cultivation system. I wondered why a Ma Family child who had been nothing special suddenly looked like a prodigy... He transformed muscles, qi, and blood with qi. There is nothing to gain from examining the body alone."

Her rambling was sharp and incisive. The Ma Family master and servant stiffened.

Yeo-ui Cheon Ju casually flicked her wrist at Ma Se-in.

The gesture clearly told him to get lost, and her whole body showed how little she thought of him.

"Phantom Wing Second Step, my foot. With a movement art this good, there should be at least five more steps. Let's create a branch that surpasses the main line."

Rustle.

Yeo-ui Cheon Ju interlaced her fingers and raised her arms high. Her soft black sleeves brushed her cheeks before spilling down.

At the same time, Yu Jeong-myeong, Squad Leader So-yeon, furrowed his brow and clasped his hands behind his back.

"That was not part of the plan. Weren't we going to examine the Leader of Demon Wings' martial arts, then teach them simply to the main fortress's martial artists if we judged them useful for immediately increasing their strength?"

"That was before I read it. I didn't know it was such an intuitive martial art. It would be a waste to stop at simplifying and teaching it, so I intend to structure it in my own way before Seom-ye returns. I think I can link it through Phantom Wing Fourth Step, even if only barely."

Her response was calm.

A cold flash passed through Yu Jeong-myeong's blue eyes.

"Isn't that disrespectful? The founder is still alive..."

"You oppose this? Is there some orthodox sect elder here right now? Every time an unranked disciple or White Uniform youngster dies here, I intend to cut off one of your fingers too, Uncle."

"Even if it has entered the Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury, that martial art is not wholly yours. I am saying you must show it proper respect. To alter that footwork without exchanging a single word with the Grandmaster is no different from the Northern War God you hate so much...!"

At that instant, the corners of Bukgung A's eyes sharpened to an extreme.

Craaaash!

In a flash, a sudden gust swept in. Squad Leader So-yeon's body blurred, then was violently flung away.

The wall shattered with a thunderous crash, sending pale stone dust into the air. It happened in an instant.

The figure of Squad Leader So-yeon, Yu Jeong-myeong, vanished beyond the wall.

"You damned old man, if we speak in military terms, this is wartime. Do you know how far Shanxi is from here? What if Heavenly Extreme Sect swordsmen climb over the walls tomorrow? I hear even those Yeoryeong rabble are lurking around Xiangyang."

Yeo-ui Cheon Ju stood where he had been, repeatedly clenching and unclenching the hand she had raised to her chest.

"Besides, you, me, and the Leader of Demon Wings are all fellow disciples of the same martial lineage. If he likes my martial art, tell him to take it."

Her hair fluttered like ebony in the backdraft that came belatedly. Ma Se-in, standing near the entrance to the clearing, had seen nothing.

Only Bukgung A's leg, faintly distorting space, entered his vision.

Her first step was extremely familiar. Her foot pointed straight ahead, and a faint aura rippled around her calf.

'Phantom Wing Step...!'

After Ma Se-in's eyes widened as though they would split apart, a rumor quietly spread through Desolate Fortress.

The Annihilation Squad Leader, Yeo-ui Cheon Ju, and Squad Leader So-yeon had begun a wager over a certain footwork art.

The first person to walk four steps would win. They said the founder would judge the martial art's completeness.

It was the process of creating a branch lineage. It spread like a trend.

It was the second such trend, following the spirit of brief decisive battles.

Desolate Fortress was gradually being colored by Seom-ye, so it would not break as the sword of the people.

* * *

A mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

The plain around the gorge had been dyed dark red. Close to several dozen bodies lay fallen in a great circle.

Far from them, on one side of the cliff, Jeong Yeon-shin's footsteps in a plain black robe crushed the silence of the corpses.

"The Great Ritual Sword pointed this way."

"Y-Yes."

Hyeon Won-chang retied his hero’s headband tightly behind his head and followed with dazed steps.

The Imperial Hero's aura differed from when he had released the restriction. His usual air had returned. He was the same Great Tongue Sword as ever.

"Let's see. I may not be able to unravel the formation, but I can send a signal."

Hyeon Won-chang stepped over the corpses of martial arts scholars and stood against one side of the cliff wall.

His expression carried complicated feelings, yet he acted without hesitation. It strangely suited the hero’s headband trailing behind him.

Jeong Yeon-shin stepped back and watched Hyeon Won-chang. The Imperial Hero was firmly pressing the cliff at peculiar points.

"Sword control... sword-control techniques, qi sword control..."

A hoarse voice drifted from behind them. Jeong Yeon-shin knew who it was without turning around. It was the last swordsman cut down among the Young Family Head of the Moyong Family's men.

Had the swordsman lost their mind? The shock and fear in the muttering were deeper than the life still remaining in them.

"Lotus... Lotus Nezha. Demon Wings... must avoid..."

The sound of a body collapsing spread bleakly. The last survivor, who had been muttering all kinds of words alone, died without leaving a name behind in the wilderness surrounded by cliffs like a fortress.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not bother to look.

The Leader of Demon Wings was a martial artist. Having endured countless incidents, he had long ago decided not to regard some vicious enemies as people.

Benevolence and righteousness were privileges that allowed common people to live as people, but they did not suit someone who killed to avoid dying young.

"It's open! Why was the response so quick?"

As he suddenly raised his head, a corner of the cliff opened like a door in the direction Hyeon Won-chang was looking. It was an uncommon wonder in the martial world.

Darkness poured out with a creaking sound like iron door hinges. A damp wind, like the air inside a cave, also blew forth.

"So you were safe after all. I was quite worried while looking after old men who refuse to act their age and their disciples..."

A slender figure stood at the entrance. He appeared to be the one who had undone the concealment formation and opened the door.

"I've been waiting, Seon-hwi."

The man's figure clasped his hands in an exaggeratedly respectful gesture. His bearing carried an aristocratic elegance.

The Slayer Hero, Geum Jon-hwi.

He wore a broad-brimmed black hat. The black cloak trailing down his back resembled, at a glance, the attire of Desolate Fortress Squad Leaders.

He gave off a faint aura as though he might vanish before one's eyes, the sort of person the martial world would call a mysterious young master.

His gaze reached Jeong Yeon-shin.

A hearty smile formed on Geum Jon-hwi's lips.

"We finally meet like this. Welcome to the true Assassins' Sect. I have long..."

His voice trailed off. His black hat lifted slightly as his gaze took in the mountain of corpses.

Every one of them had been cut down by a single sword strike. Anyone with even a little understanding of the sword would know at once.

One had been split cleanly in two at the waist. Another had a broken sword embedded in the abdomen, as though the neck had been cut off along with the sword while sending out a force wave. Others lay in a row as if all their heads had been swept away at once.

'What kind of sword art could have done that to them?'

The Slayer Hero was speechless.

There were at least forty. Not one of the corpses lacked a sword in hand. That meant they had all been swordsmen whose skill had reached its peak.

Even for Geum Seon-hwi with his restriction released, this would have been exceedingly difficult. Yet the young master before him, called Lotus Nezha, wore a calm expression. There was not a single drop of blood on his sword hilt or the back of his hand.

Supernatural phenomena.

'Should I let him inside?'

Conflict suddenly arose within him. He led a sect where the legacy of Heavenly Demon's Tomb lay dormant.

The Moyong Family Head and the Heart Martial Union Leader, who had recently been coveting this place, were still only hidden dragons. They could not compare to the moment he now faced a serpent on the verge of becoming a dragon.

His eyes kept drifting toward the mountain of corpses and sea of blood spread beyond the shoulder of the Desolate Fortress young master.

"It is the sect that raised the Leader of Demon Wings' right-hand man."

Lotus Nezha spoke. His tone was gentle, as if persuading him.

"I think it could be considered a gift."

Footnotes:

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