WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 329: Grandfather and Grandson (2)
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A proving ground prepared for a grandson who still had to wear a Purple Uniform long robe, attain the rank of Divine Sword Squad Leader, become the master of the Divine Sword, and accumulate great achievements.
For an instant, it was as if a typhoon had descended.
The channel formed by the upper dantian’s spirituality struck Ma Yeon-jeok, yet the shockwave erupted from Jeong Yeon-shin.
A tremendous gale raged as though it meant to tear space apart.
Whoooosh!
The upper dantian’s spirituality transformed into a violent wind in an instant. Though it differed in nature from qi, it swept in all directions like a wave of martial power.
Dust from the ocher clearing was thrown into the air, and a dense cloud rose as though a thunderclap bomb had detonated.
The invisible channel warped. It struck Ma Yeon-jeok’s head and shattered.
In the midst of it all, for a brief moment.
A vast presence rose from the entire body of Seom-ye, the Leader of Demon Wings.
It was as though an unseen dragon had suddenly coiled itself there. A shadow vast enough to cover a mountain peak fell over the area, then vanished.
An incredible sense of liberation swept through Jeong Yeon-shin’s body in that instant. It felt as though his innate senses and inner energy had completely merged.
But it was brief. The feeling immediately unraveled.
That alone made the sword light filling Jeong Yeon-shin’s vision disappear.
The Moyong Family Head had withdrawn the Meteor Sword Art through terrifying control of his inner energy. Only fragments of white and colorless sword-force waves drifted through the air.
They said peerless swordsmen existed in a state like Heart-Guided Sword, where their unconscious minds flowed directly into attacks as swift as light.
Their bodies moved at the speed of thought, without limit. There were even rumors that some peerless masters of the elven race, whose command of inner energy was fearsome, could kill someone with aura the instant they willed it. The reverse was possible as well.
The moment Moyong Jung-rak, the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord, faltered, his sword strike withdrew too.
That was why Jeong Yeon-shin remained unharmed. He still stood there with his gaze slightly lowered. Only his long black hair fluttered below his shoulders.
“...”
Moyong Jung-rak quietly watched the Leader of Demon Wings.
Then, where he stood, he flicked his sword once.
Swish!
“An ingenious trick,” he said.
“It deserves to be called an ultimate move. I heard there was a sect that conquered Hangzhou with martial arts built on empty bluster. Did you create this art after hearing that rumor?”
The Moyong Family Head had halted his attack.
Anyone could see that his earlier reaction came from concern over a counterattack. It did not suit one of the Eight Family Heads, whose every move was said to sever lives as naturally as the laws of the world.
It was a rare marvel. The Leader of Demon Wings’ aura had changed for a moment into something so mysterious that it was difficult to find anything comparable.
Dragon Fan Treading Flowers, which had struck Ma Yeon-jeok and dispersed, had been perceived differently from what it truly was. Rather than a decisive secret art, it had appeared to be a means of disrupting the rhythm of an opening attack.
Since it was an upper dantian ability that used spirituality and produced no aura, it may have been mistaken for a type of sorcery martial art.
‘Sorcery martial arts. They might not be all that different.’
Jeong Yeon-shin thought as he held the Northern Light Sword at his side.
In any case, it had failed. Dragon Fan Treading Flowers did not work on his grandfather. Something that strongly enveloped Ma Yeon-jeok’s entire body had driven away the dragon formed from his mental image.
At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin sensed a certain realm. It seemed to be what the Lord of Desolate Fortress had mentioned when feeding him fragments of the World Tree fruit.
The realm of the Divine Sword Squad Leader.
‘How far is it?’
Meeting the Moyong Family Head’s blue-black gaze, Jeong Yeon-shin tried to gauge what lay beyond it.
Was it because he had briefly resonated with his grandfather’s spirituality? It felt immensely distant, yet somehow close as well.
Then, from the slope below.
“Huh.”
The Tyrant Hero let out a low exclamation.
His folded arms relaxed slightly. Soon after, his eyes turned upward as though he were examining the top of his own head.
The pink sleeves hanging down his arms swayed like an immortal’s robes. It was as though his inner energy had stirred with his mood.
It was the bearing of an absolute master.
“What a truly astonishing divine art. I can sense exceptional spirit in it as well.”
Ma Yeon-jeok burst into hearty laughter. Intense interest, as fierce as his nature, shone in his eyes.
“I had intended to seek something like a drake’s inner core because I was worried about you, but you’ve already come this far... I’m curious about your current martial ability. And how that Divine Technique looks when you use it in earnest.”
Facing the Moyong Family Head in the clearing above, Jeong Yeon-shin understood at once. His grandfather, who had been savoring the technique’s aftermath, had seen through his secret art.
He had praised the essence of Dragon Fan Treading Flowers, which created the same conditions as the opponent, as exceptional spirit.
Those were the words of the previous Divine Sword Squad Leader, someone whose ability had surpassed the pinnacle. Jeong Yeon-shin felt a strange feeling.
“That’s irritating. Let us begin.”
The Moyong Family Head suddenly began striding forward, his brow drawn together slightly, looking human rather than like one of the supernatural phenomena.
Perhaps he resented becoming a spectacle. It was difficult to imagine such a thing for the head of one of the Eight Great Families.
His unhesitating footsteps were as direct as they could be.
Step.
He closed the distance without considering the exchange of moves. It was as though the whole world lay within his sword domain.
The pressure bearing down on Jeong Yeon-shin was immense, like the Imperial Sword Art itself. Translucent haze streamed from the peerless swordsman of the Moyong Family.
Without any particular movement, he had reached the realm of preparing his sword domain. Whether he unleashed a swift sword, an illusion sword, or any other kind of technique, he created a space where it would become faster and freer.
One of the Eight Family Heads. Foremost Master of Liaodong.
Thud. Thud.
His footprints gradually sank deeper. Threads of sword qi rose from the earth gouged out by every step.
A realm where merely establishing a sword domain made the surrounding space tremble. Even the Leader of Demon Wings’ long robe pressed against his skin, tightening around him.
This was clearly not a combined attack. It was a one-on-one fight against the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord, one of the Eight Family Heads.
It was something that would draw the attention not of a single regional martial world, but of the entire jianghu across the Nine Provinces.
A thunderous resonance rose beneath Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet.
It was Ultimate Thunder.
Clusters of transparent flowers extending around his body bloomed in full, accompanied by vibrations that finely shook the ground.
The lotus-like petals flickered, transparent enough to see through, and released a hollow resonance like lifeless lightning.
Wooooong.
The aftermath of Radiant River overflowed from his entire body after filling him completely from within.
Ferocious vitality flooded his body. Along with pain that felt as though every acupoint and minor meridian in him would tear apart, the spirit of the Clear Qilin surged forth. The air warped over the back of Jeong Yeon-shin’s hand as he gripped his sword hilt.
Moyong Jung-rak did not care. He merely furrowed his brow slightly as he continued forward.
Even a marvel that would have its wielder revered as a mountain god among commoners seemed ordinary in the eyes of one of the Eight Family Heads.
“Lotus Nezha. Good, let’s see it.”
He raised his sword and brought it down without warning. His arm moved with bold, open grace.
Boom!
A shockwave exploded before Jeong Yeon-shin’s palm. His sleeve rolled up in an instant.
He had unleashed Radiant River with his unarmed left hand, but the sharp force crushed the palm-strike force wave whole and embedded itself in his palm.
The recoil traveling up his arm was tremendous. Even his elbow tingled from the impact.
It could not be helped. He needed time before he could use Dragon Fan Treading Flowers again. It was a martial art that contracted the upper dantian like a muscle.
‘Tch.’
The moment he swung his hand and pulled it free, white light flashed before his eyes. It was the Meteor Sword Art Second Form.
As blood scattered from Jeong Yeon-shin’s palm and stained one side of his vision, he formed the mnemonic formula of the Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art at the acupoints of his right hand.
Judging the Qilin.
Force waves of Force Projection surged wildly from his entire body.
He used Phantom Wing Step and spun backward. At the same time, he struck out with a swift sword that drew a circle. The lotus petals surrounding his body resonated at once.
Clang!
His sword strike followed the rotation of his evasive footwork and cleanly deflected Moyong Jung-rak’s sword.
The violent vibration erupting from his grip gave him a strange satisfaction. He was not greatly outmatched in the force used to repel a blade.
‘This will do.’
The Moyong Family Head was different from the Zhuge Family Head.
Jegal Cheon-sang, who had been on the verge of death, had been fortunate. He had faced Ak Su-rim while possessing a method to counter the Ak Family Spear Art.
But the Moyong Family Head had no method to counter the Seom-ye Martial Lineage. Even if he did, it would be no more than a stepping stone for Jeong Yeon-shin.
Ha ha.
Moyong Jung-rak laughed. He did not press forward again. He only slowly twisted the hand holding his sword from side to side.
It was as though he were savoring Jeong Yeon-shin’s sword force. He truly was a man mad for the sword.
“Impressive. The Tyrant Sword Mad Path was right to spare your life.”
It was the Tyrant Sword Sect Master’s epithet. Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips curved coldly downward.
“Are you acquainted with the Tyrant Sword Sect Master?”
“I’ve known him since he was a dullard, fleeing as the crown prince of a fallen country and subsisting by begging from Yulha of Mount Hua. They made a poor match. Yulha was already radiant even then.”
Yulha of Mount Hua meant the sect leader of the Mount Hua Sect, Starflower Sword God Yulha Nangnang. Perhaps they had become acquainted at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering of their generation.
“A dullard...?”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again.
“Do you know anything more?”
“I know well of that worthless dream of his. He was swallowed by impatience.”
Moyong Jung-rak’s thick lips rose slightly.
“But it does not seem to be the time for you to concern yourself with that.”
“...?”
“How will you survive here?”
Wooooong.
White light gathered at the tip of Moyong Jung-rak’s sword. The aura carried through the air was cold.
It felt as though the entire world had been moved to another land. The sky darkened for an instant. It was like when his grandfather Ma Yeon-jeok manifested himself. Aura had blocked out the sunlight.
Blue light flashed from Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.
He watched the Neiguan acupoint on Moyong Jung-rak’s wrist twitch beneath the fingers gripping the sword hilt. At the same time, he scanned the surrounding hazes of aura that would bolster the Meteor Sword Art’s attacks.
The moment Moyong Jung-rak flicked his wrist, he saw through the sword path that would shoot forward in a straight line. His nerves sharpened to their limit.
Heaven-Displaying Eye Technique.
This was the moment to employ every martial art he had created so far. The instant he allowed a single sword strike through, he would die.
His grandfather had stopped the Heart Martial Union, but this could not remain nothing more than a sparring ground if he wished to advance further. That was why his grandfather, who had flinched when blood burst from his left hand, had ultimately not intervened.
‘Now I have to go.’
To Purple Uniform.
Gravel scraped beneath his feet with a harsh sound, and the two blurred figures collided in the center at the same time.
Clang!
The force that burst out like a storm swept down the slope and pushed even at the hems of the mounted martial artists’ trousers.
“...!”
The Heart Martial Union’s martial contingent.
The masters sent north at regular intervals like tribute could not hide their astonishment. Some raised their brows as though they were outright appalled.
It was an expression difficult to show before the Heart Martial Union Leader, who was like a prince to them.
Gwi Yun-rin, standing close to her father, paid no attention to the reactions of those beneath her. Scratching her long, coarse black hair, she stared at Jeong Yeon-shin.
The same went for the one-armed Jeon Baek who followed her. With his mouth slightly open, he showed none of a scholar’s elegance.
Lotus Nezha was crossing swords with the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord.
Were they competing in inner energy? The creaking flow of air had reached all the way to the slope. Something impossible was happening.
The sight of him with black robes and hair fluttering around him did not seem human. The weight of his slightly childish epithet came through exactly as it was.
Whoever had coined it was brilliant. Even while he was constantly being pushed back, even the weaker martial artists could see that something was changing. It was a wondrous sight.
‘How old did they say he was? Is that even a person?’
Gwi Yun-rin was continually astonished, yet worried as well.
The white fur on the cloak worn by the Heart Martial Union Leader, her father at the head of the martial contingent standing in a row, began to rise.
Saaah.
Overwhelming invisible aura slowly emerged. Just brushing against a strand of it made her skin sting.
After Lotus Nezha’s petals faded, the invisible aura emerged. Now it churned as though it might lift the fur cloak like a flag. The earth beneath their feet seemed ready to split apart at any moment.
At that instant, Gwi Yun-rin could recite the exact same thought as her father.
‘That bastard is dangerous.’
She could easily guess it. Given the relationship between the imperial court and the Heart Martial Union, anyone would know that harming the Leader of Demon Wings here could cause a major incident.
Yet Desolate Fortress was also a faction that obstructed every undertaking of the Heart Martial Union. The relationship between jianghu sects and Desolate Fortress could not help being that way.
He was likely weighing the gains and losses.
What Seom-ye would be like in roughly ten years. The imperial punishment the Heart Martial Union would have to bear if they cut off the Leader of Demon Wings’ head here.
Her father was likely balancing those scales in his mind.
Gwi Wi-hu, the current Heart Martial Union Leader and Martial Emperor of the Prince of Commandery, was a peerless master. The moment his heart moved, he could step onto the mountain peak with ease. Attacks born in his mind manifested through his body at once.
No matter how powerful the interloper standing in the middle with folded arms was, one move could still reach the Leader of Demon Wings. That technique would be lethal against Jeong Yeon-shin, who was already struggling to face the Moyong Family Head.
Swish.
The moment her father’s figure finally blurred, Gwi Yun-rin’s eyes trembled slightly.
She thought, I’ve grown attached to him in my own way.
Whoooosh!
From the slope to the peak, the air contracted as though enclosed by fortress walls. It was the trail left behind by the Heart Martial Union Leader, Gwi Wi-hu.
The Martial Emperor of the Prince of Commandery’s Mujang Radiance Art was a Divine Technique. It never allowed the opponent to evade.
It was a martial art called the ultimate of blunt arts. Its direct release of power came even before the Imperial Sword Art.
It linked inner energy with natural qi, triggered overwhelming Remote Object Manipulation, and used that force to draw both the opponent and himself together before slamming in with the shoulder. It was a supreme Divine Technique.
The peerless force wave formed on his shoulder through the profoundest principles had once shattered the inner-energy barriers of hundreds of northern demon race warriors. In Henan, it was said that only the Shaolin abbot could rival him.
Kwoooooong!
The circular shockwaves that exploded a moment later rolled in layer upon layer.
The scattered shrubs were torn out whole and sent flying, while dust rising like a tidal wave thickly veiled the surroundings.
Through the Life-Controlling Eye Technique of the Heart Martial Union, Gwi Yun-rin could clearly see her father’s back carving a straight furrow into the peak. He looked like an irresistible comet.
The translucent, colorless inner-energy barrier surrounding his body was incredibly dense. The Protective Qi Technique, Radiant Divine Armor. At a glance, it had more than ten layers.
He appeared fully prepared for the Body Movement Scripture of the man who had killed a hundred troops. He was taking the stance that he could afford to allow one move through.
He had judged that killing Lotus Nezha without suffering a fatal wound would be worth it.
The Heart Martial Union Leader’s Radiant Divine Armor was both a Protective Qi Technique and an offensive move. That was because his signature technique was a body-barging art. Now that he had reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s immediate vicinity, it was more than enough to crush Jeong Yeon-shin’s back.
Then suddenly, a massive hand wrapped in fragments of vivid Azure Flame seized the Heart Martial Union Leader’s forearm. It was large enough to grasp his thick arm in one hand.
It happened in an instant. The translucent, colorless Radiant Divine Armor warped completely. Blue sparks scattered in every direction from the unfamiliar hand amid a grating sound that seemed to tear at the ears.
The Heart Martial Union Leader’s black eyebrows twitched.
“You judged poorly.”
The voice rang out beside him in midair.
A man stood there in a vivid pink long robe, proud and composed. His voice seemed to weigh down the air. Seething power could be felt within it.
“You should not have done that.”
The moment Ma Yeon-jeok twisted his waist, the Heart Martial Union Leader’s arm rose with his hand. Before he or anyone present could even widen their eyes, veins bulged across the back of the Tyrant Hero Ma Yeon-jeok’s hand.
The instant power burning like flames in his blue veins released a wave like a dragon’s roar, the Heart Martial Union Leader’s arm was torn from his torso with the sound of ripping flesh.
Footnotes:
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