WeTried Translations

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 345: Enemies in the Same Boat

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Later Strike, First Arrival.

Even if one struck later, one arrived first.

Earlier, Jeong Yeon-shin had thrust his hands and feet into the three streams of energy Bukgung A had sent forward, using them as propulsive force waves. It was a kind of Harmonizing Force.

In that instant, he calculated his direction.

Moving while charting his path in his mind was not difficult. It was like when he had once used the passageway of Vajra Immovable Body Method behind Venerable Won Jeok.

His Phantom Wing Step now carried a different quality.

It no longer merely accelerated his body with the propulsive force of aura or dispersed inner-power fluctuations through his footwork.

By adding an immensely powerful intent to his steps, he had reduced to the absolute minimum the time it took for his advancing footwork to take form.

The method he had displayed resembled the profound mysteries Daoist and Buddhist martial arts had acquired after centuries in the current of time.

His five steps had been strangely swift and free.

‘Senior Bukgung was impressive too.’

In his view, the difference had been only a single move. While loosening her hair ribbon and briefly struggling from side to side to remove her long robe, he had failed to guard his own waist as well.

Even if he had killed Bukgung A instantly, he would have suffered a fairly serious wound.

Swish.

Jeong Yeon-shin gathered the hair ribbon and black robe in his hands into his right hand.

The ribbon brushed softly against his skin on either side, as if it were new. The long robe was coarse from its hem onward, perhaps because it had endured the fierce struggle among the Black Uniform Three Pillars.

It felt strange.

When they were young, his older brothers, Jeong Nam-san and Jeong Joong-san, would occasionally show the village children ornaments and wooden swords they had taken from the children of martial families across the river.

They would say the country bumpkins would come to reclaim them, so they had to prepare their defenses.

It had been a childhood game in Xinye County, backed by the Jeong Family Manor, a great landowning house.

Whenever the children played at taking and retaking things, Jeong Yeon-shin would peek only his eyes over the wall and quietly watch them chase and be chased.

‘I only watched from afar.’

He thought it was rather fun.

“……”

Only the faint sound of pebbles rolling echoed across the dueling platform.

Much of the audience held its breath. Shock and confusion showed in their various expressions.

The Leader of Demon Wings losing his treasured sword was nothing.

After all, Radiant River was the most famous ultimate technique among Seom-ye Jeong Yeon-shin's martial arts. Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art had yet to become anything beyond the name Clear Qilin had given it.

The black robe of Yeo-ui Cheon Ju in his hand, on the other hand, was chillingly intact. He had removed it himself without even tearing the outer garment.

It was difficult to believe. In a single exchange, he had seized three fatal points: both arms and the back of the neck.

Masters and novices alike could judge victory and defeat.

Anyone who understood what the long robe and hair ribbon fluttering silently from the Leader of Demon Wings' hand signified could not help but shudder.

“You, this is……”

Bukgung A stood there blankly, dressed only in a thin black martial uniform and holding Jeong Yeon-shin's sword in her raised hands.

Tap.

The Nethercurrent Squad Leader, who had been watching them from the side, moved.

The hem of the black clothing beneath his body, wrapped entirely in bandages, brushed the ground. In the blink of an eye, he arrived within arm's reach of Jeong Yeon-shin, and a gloomy shadow stretched long from beneath his feet.

There had been no presence.

This was the realm of a supreme master, a Body Movement Scripture nearly akin to sorcery arts. The bandage-wrapped palm extended without a sound.

There was none of the usual sensation of Force Projection tearing through the resistance of the air. It was as if the palm strike itself had been inscribed into space.

Its nature was close to an assassination meant to kill in one blow, despite being launched in broad daylight under the crowd's gaze.

‘It was a contest disguised as a chaotic melee.’

Jeong Yeon-shin twisted the energy at the Yongquan acupoint in the sole of his foot through his heel.

Phantom Wing Step activated again. His body turned of its own accord to face the Nethercurrent Squad Leader. The character for Desolation on his shoulder was about to be torn apart by the palm strike.

The instant he raised his left hand, a faint cluster of light rose from his palm. As their palms met, it was crushed apart. It was Later Strike, First Arrival once more.

The Nethercurrent Squad Leader's breath stopped briefly upon encountering the joint lock of the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel. A pale current of light leaked in every direction from the gap between their joined hands for an instant, accompanied by the sound of countless teeth gnawing through cloth.

‘Should I pull away?’

Jeong Yeon-shin could clearly feel it through his palm. Light Wheel qi was breaking apart and grinding down the Nethercurrent Squad Leader's energy. It was a violently destructive sensation.

From one side of the viewing stands, an exceptionally refined presence flinched as if concerned for a comrade's safety. Even while exchanging blows, Jeong Yeon-shin sensed and learned from the nature of Jin Myeong-jo, the Divine Blood Extreme Demon.

Their hands did not remain joined for long. Before a single breath had ended, the Nethercurrent Squad Leader stepped back.

Hoo.

A stifled exhale came from the cloth wrapped around his face. After staring at Jeong Yeon-shin for a moment, the Nethercurrent Squad Leader turned away without a word and stepped down from the platform.

“……”

The silence among the spectators deepened.

“Yeo-ui Cheon Ju! Is that sword truly a sacred heirloom of the Moyong Family Head?!”

A booming question erupted. The voice, filled with inner power, spread in all directions. The crowd's eyes immediately turned to Grand Chief Steward Im Jin-myeong before quickly shifting to Yeo-ui Cheon Ju.

Bukgung A, who had remained absorbed in examining the sword even as the Nethercurrent Squad Leader left the Training Hall, nodded faintly.

She stared at Jeong Yeon-shin, who stood taller than her, with distrust in her eyes.

“How is the Meteor Sword in your hands……?”

“That is because the Leader of Demon Wings took the Star Radiance Great Sword Lord's head alone! It is a trophy of war! Return it at once!”

This was an occasion meant to bolster the morale of the Desolate Fortress martial artists, who had been driven into a desperate position.

The Grand Chief Steward, whose lips had risen as though being pulled apart, shouted again. Faint inner-power fluctuations colored the area around his beard.

“Jeong Yeon-shin, Leader of Demon Wings, has taken the Moyong Family Head's head! He slew one of the Eight Family Heads alone! As the victor of this contest, the current master of Demon Wings should rightfully be allowed to choose any mission he wishes! No one shall question that choice!”

His use of lip-speech was tremendous. He had completely turned inner energy into volume, making him seem almost like the future Great Tongue Sword of Demon Wings.

There was a reaction.

The main fortress martial artists stirred beneath the dueling platform like waves. It was the prelude to an uproar.

Officials and merchants who had been listening from beyond the walls because they could not enter the central Training Hall scattered in haste.

Even without concentrating, Jeong Yeon-shin could feel the countless presences growing incredibly busy.

The same was true of the viewing stands.

With a drawn-out cry, Ak Su-rim leaped down and began firing every sort of question at Jeong Yeon-shin, her eyes round. Yeo-ui Cheon Ju returned the Meteor Sword with an expression that suggested there was much to say.

“How many steps was it?”

“Five steps.”

Ah.

Bukgung A let out a short sigh and slowly spoke. Her expression was subdued, unlike usual.

“There are still two more contests left, but I can see why the Grand Chief Steward is making such a fuss. I thought I would come after the uncle from the Dragon family.”

Jeong Yeon-shin gave a brief bow and sheathed his sword. Bukgung A was right. This Squad Leader Assembly was said to be exceptionally competitive.

The six Black Uniforms would divide into groups of three and compete, then the two winners would decide the final victor.

At that moment, Jin Myeong-jo rose suddenly and called it a waste of time. He would not enter the contest and would leave the decision to the Leader of Demon Wings.

Wrapped from head to toe in a black long robe like an elegant bat, he glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin before looking down at the Grand Chief Steward.

“Having witnessed an achievement worthy of respect, I have no desire to move my body. Let us return.”

The current Leader of Demon Wings raised his head amid Ak Su-rim's chatter.

It was a nobility he had never seen in his life. The Blood Guard Squad Leader slightly dipped his head in response to his silent bow, then vanished across the sky with a leap.

Ak Su-rim's chattering lingered faintly behind the hem of that robe.

“I won't do it either. How am I supposed to handle those steps? Unless my condition or luck is at its absolute best today……”

* * *

Jeong Yeon-shin avoided the countless fist-and-palm salutes of the main fortress martial artists and returned to the Demon Wings hall.

He exchanged all his rewards for Golden Wound Medicine and Wound-Healing Pills. His qi storage had reached the point where ordinary elixir pills could no longer increase it.

He left the distribution of rewards to Baek Mir-yeo and Cheong Myeong.

“The Moyong Family Head……”

“Look at this list. There'll be plenty left even after supplying the White Uniforms. How many dozens of packs will we fill?”

Cheong Myeong spoke with a smile. Demon Wings' stores, which had been depleted after the City of Master Craftsmen lost its strength, would now be full.

“Please set aside what I need from what we already have. Now. I've decided to take the mission heading from Sichuan to Xinjiang. I intend to leave first.”

The Swift Heaven Wing Squad Leader, the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader, and the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit had left for Xinjiang long ago. Even the abbreviated ceremony had ended, so there was no reason to delay further.

“The Ming Cult's Young Sect Master has reportedly made contact with the Golden-Wing Sect in Sichuan. They likely intend to take a flood dragon's inner core and improve their martial arts once again.”

Those had been the Grand Chief Steward's words.

Jeong Yeon-shin intended to speak to the Lord of Desolate Fortress about a Purple Uniform promotion after this final mission. By then, she would have returned to the main fortress.

There was much to do.

Back in his office, Jeong Yeon-shin quickly handled the remaining work while thinking of his maternal uncle Ma Jin, whom he had not seen in a long time because they were both busy.

“Yeon-shin, your handwriting is quite graceful, so there is no need to worry about you writing letters.”

His maternal uncle's kind words had not been wrong.

Assigning missions to his companions, requesting supplies from the Chief Steward's Office, and reviewing his companions' progress with the Radiant Art Formation all proceeded swiftly.

Thanks to the carefully written martial manual, there had been no questions about the Radiant Art Formation. It was deeply satisfying. Demon Wings was steadily growing stronger, even if slowly.

“I'm the scout. I'll go ahead, so follow carefully.”

The only subordinate who could follow the lightness skill Ten Miles of Deep Light even a little was Languid Flame Dragon, with his tremendous qi storage. Yet since the martial world had recently become so dangerous, those beneath the Leader of Demon Wings should travel together.

An era of full-scale famine and exploitation had arrived. The martial world under heaven was an enemy of Desolate Fortress.

As soon as Jeong Yeon-shin arranged the makeup of the rear group, which included Baek Mir-yeo, he left the hall.

Sichuan, Qinghai, and Xinjiang, where mysterious fog was said to be rising in many places.

Qinghai and Xinjiang in particular lay outside the nation's territory. That meant the search range was enormously vast.

Several figures at the Squad Leader tier were to spread out and search. According to the Grand Chief Steward, a couple more people would be leaving as well.

As the victor of the contest, Jeong Yeon-shin had strongly recommended the Blood Guard Squad Leader and Yeo-ui Cheon Ju.

While he, having proved his martial prowess by beheading the Moyong Family Head, had been assigned to handle Laughing Heaven Unrivaled, the task of looking after the other Black Uniforms should naturally go to people of careful character.

Bukgung A, who had heard this beside the Grand Chief Steward with a reluctant expression, stared at Jeong Yeon-shin strangely for a long while. She did not seem strongly opposed.

“Grand Preceptor… Yeon-shin. Are we going to keep traveling together like this?”

“Only until your qi deviation is cured.”

“What if I never recover?”

The Seventh Apostle walked beside Jeong Yeon-shin, her ebony hair falling over the broad folds of a White Uniform martial robe that resembled a court robe.

She was a blind woman of radiant beauty, as though a haze of light surrounded the tip of her prominent nose. As the two people of outstanding appearance drew the surrounding gazes, their steps had already reached the main gate of the fortress.

“Yes. That one. That’s the one.”

A voice suddenly rang out.

Among the man and woman blocking the wide fortress gate, a middle-aged woman pointed at the Seventh Apostle. One sleeve of her jet-black court robe hung like a withered tree branch.

Viciousness and dignity coexisted on her lovely face. Eyes that had once seemed to look down upon the entire world now felt somewhat insignificant to Jeong Yeon-shin.

“That lowborn thing dared commit such a dreadful act against me, who bears the blood of the Son of Heaven. Without knowing their place, inside the main fortress……”

A collateral member of the imperial clan. Ju Yeon-jeong of the Desolate Ma family.

The man beside her was Ju Cheol, the Sword Authority Duke. His face lit up when he saw Jeong Yeon-shin, but he frowned upon hearing her words and turned to Ju Yeon-jeong.

“Do you mean the esteemed person beside the next Divine Sword Squad Leader?”

“Esteemed person……?”

“How could they not be? How could someone kept close by a hero be ordinary?”

Ju Yeon-jeong repeated the words “esteemed person” blankly, then raised her brows. Only then did it seem that Jeong Yeon-shin entered her sight.

The Leader of Demon Wings' appearance after Marrow Cleansing and Bone Reforging had become a major topic of conversation throughout the main fortress.

After hearing the rumors, recalling his former features was not difficult, at least for masters who had trained an eye technique.

Ju Yeon-jeong's body stiffened with a start.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not acknowledge her. He greeted only the Sword Authority Duke with a look, thereby laying bare, without restraint, the distinctive temperament of the Desolate Ma family to which Ju Yeon-jeong belonged.

As things grew even more absurd, Ju Cheol maintained his affable expression and wished him martial fortune.

“Perhaps we will meet next time in the Forbidden City. I wish you success.”

Those listed as candidates for Purple Uniform promotion would meet the emperor before the assembled civil and military officials. Ju Cheol's words were an unmatched blessing.

Jeong Yeon-shin bowed again and calmly passed the two of them.

Every step radiated an overwhelming presence.

To Ju Yeon-jeong, it did.

It weighed nearly a thousand pounds.

The terrifying pressure sealed her lips, and for a moment, Tyrant Hero's image overlapped with that of the Leader of Demon Wings.

“There are many people in the world with the surname Ju.”

Rustle.

The Seventh Apostle smiled and poked the shoulder beside Ju Yeon-jeong's empty sleeve with a long finger before moving away.

* * *

From Huguang Province to Sichuan Province.

Many days passed.

Jeong Yeon-shin no longer needed a fine horse.

The lightness skill Ten Miles of Deep Light traced constellations across the ground, while the Light Wheel within his heart spun endlessly, feeding propulsive force waves into his heels.

The Seventh Apostle's Graceful Body Method, reminiscent of Walking Upon Empty Space, could barely keep up.

They arrived at a snow-covered mountain range whose end could not be seen.

The two traveled together with some distance between them. Every day, Jeong Yeon-shin would teach mnemonic formulas, and the next day the Seventh Apostle would ask about them again.

Then came today's noon. The sunlight shone white.

Spring did not seem to have reached Sichuan Province yet.

At the bottom of a gorge ringed by pure-white ridges, only a stream that had somehow not completely frozen still flowed leisurely.

It was a route one had to cross to enter the Sichuan Basin.

“Don't step on the ice there. It's very thin. My servant had quite a miserable time in the freezing water.”

Under the shade cast by a peak sat a figure fishing through the icy water with a bamboo rod.

Their chin was tilted slightly upward.

The mouth exposed beneath the sunlight was crooked. The aura around their entire body was strangely noble, and their smile seemed to mock everything.

That was why Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly thought of the phrase Laughing Heaven.

An immense sense of kinship struck him like lightning. He also sensed the Languid Flame Dragon's distinct disposition, as though the figure had let go of everything.

“I have a proposal. It involves screwing over the Golden-Wing Sect Master, the greediest person in Sichuan.”

The figure trembled briefly, then continued with quiet laughter.

“Would you care to go hunt a dragon together?”

“Damn it,” Jeong Yeon-shin said.

Footnotes:

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