WeTried Translations

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 349: Enemies in the Same Boat (5)

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Sect Master Hall, the pavilion where the Golden-Wing Sect Master resided.

The martial artist who had guided Jeong Yeon-shin to Sect Master Hall had already retreated far behind him.

Demonic Sect factions generally cared more for hierarchy than orthodox martial sects, and this place appeared no different.

It felt as though they regarded their Sect Master, who had surpassed the human realm, as some divine being.

―You'd do well to straighten your appearance.

The martial artist's sound transmission buzzed by Yeon-shin's ear. She had told him earlier to simply follow orders, yet she still seemed worried.

Naturally.

How often would a guest proficient in inner energy training be told to attend to the Sect Master?

It made no sense for a martial artist who had attained a certain level of inner energy training to become a mere attendant.

At least, Yeon-shin had never heard of such a thing. It was only possible because the person being served was Sichuan's foremost martial artist.

To begin with, one could not expect the qualities of an attendant from a wandering martial artist who had drifted through the martial world in search of a place to settle.

That also meant the Golden-Wing Sect Master's temperament was far removed from worldly etiquette.

―You don't seem to understand. The person waiting before you is the greatest in the world...

"I'll handle it."

Yeon-shin ignored the martial artist and headed into the pavilion.

Step.

The sound transmission cut off the moment he crossed the threshold.

He did not know whether she had stopped speaking on her own, or whether it was due to the inner power permeating the Golden-Wing Sect Master's residence.

One thing was certain.

The martial artist had not exaggerated much when she casually mentioned the Imperial Sword Art, a peerless Divine Technique.

Swish.

His martial uniform began to tighten.

The contours of his arms emerged in an instant, as though he were being soaked by invisible water.

The pressure pressing in from every direction was beyond anything ordinary.

'Heaven-Governing Dragon-Slaying Art.'

Natural qi moved in every direction, carrying distinct power. He had heard that the aftereffects of qi storage were powerful, but this was a feat even an inner-energy master would struggle to accomplish deliberately.

He had even been told it created pressure through inhalation alone, rather than by releasing energy.

'The bane of Light Wheel qi... Can I oppose it with another kind of energy?'

The energy that had swept over his body like a faint mist along with the pressure of qi storage faded away.

The Golden-Wing Sect Master's probing vanished. She seemed to have sensed nothing unusual. Yeon-shin slowly released the breath he had been holding.

The Golden-Wing Sect Master's presence within that hazy energy was truly overwhelming. Had Yeon-shin not come close to Three Flowers Gather at the Crown after learning from Jin Myeong-jo, she would have seen through everything.

'She's above the Pure Demon Alliance Leader and the Ten Perfect Sect Master. That's certain.'

They said she was a peerless master interested only in supernatural phenomena, yet even a fragment of her aura was enough for him to compare her to others.

The only peerless masters in Sichuan whom Yeon-shin had yet to encounter were the sect leaders of the Qingcheng Sect and Ami Sect.

"A newcomer. Come this way."

A man with clean-cut features poked his head from a front room some distance from the inner residence, the source of that pressure, and gestured to him. His aura was ordinary.

Yet to Yeon-shin, who belonged to Desolate Fortress, ordinary simply meant his skill would be quite exceptional by worldly standards.

The man introduced himself the moment he brought Yeon-shin inside.

"I'm Wanyang. A fairly well-known layabout, I suppose. I've been enjoying the pleasure of serving the Sect Master alone in this vast sect..."

"Man-yeon."

Yeon-shin answered shortly. It was an alias formed by adding man, meaning full, to Yeon's name. It meant a fully grown adult.

"Filled with smoke? A fitting name for a wandering martial artist. Anyway, some of the martial artists bringing in guests last night made such a fuss that I wasn't sure what to believe. So it's true that my replacement has arrived. I thought they were teasing me when they compared you to Song Yu and Pan Yue. Why would someone that handsome come here to make a living by the sword?"

Wanyang, Yeon-shin's senior in his role as the Sect Master's attendant, spoke with a smile.

Yeon-shin showed his displeasure with a slight furrow of his brow. It was because of the mention of Pan Yue.

Wanyang clapped his hands.

"Right, right. You've heard it until you're sick of it. Our Sect Master is like you. She doesn't care much for empty words or meaningless praise of one's looks. Remember just one thing: follow her orders. Your quarters are in the last room of the detached residence across from here."

"Is that all I need to know?"

"Impatient, aren't you? First, I'll show you where the wine storehouse is. You must know every furnishing in this place, and you should get close to the cooks as well... Only after you've mastered the basics will you be able to attend the Sect Master. Did you really think everything would be easy just because you got in here so easily? Listen carefully. First..."

Wanyang's words sounded casual, yet there was something oddly chilling beneath them.

Yeon-shin kept his mouth shut and only nodded from time to time.

And so it continued.

Trivial instruction carried on in the heart of the Golden-Wing Sect.

"The Sect Master enjoys wine. Perhaps because she always faces the killing intent given off by spiritual beasts head-on, she doesn't suppress her drunkenness with inner power and simply lets it take hold. Make sure you never frown at the scent of wine."

That was not trivial information to Yeon-shin. He had truly not known.

The Heaven-Governing Dragon-Slaying Art was a Divine Technique that made as much use of drunkenness as the Beggars’ Sect's Drunken Fist.

"She never lets her hair grow below her neck. It isn't because she fears close combat, but... Some spiritual beasts can wield the power of intent as though it were a hand. If your sleeves or hair are long... You understand without me explaining, don't you? That said, she doesn't favor unkempt hair either. You'll need to learn how to tend it."

Wanyang was, in his own way, a key figure in the sect. Above all, he was well connected. He seemed close with everyone, from the martial artists who selected guests to the cooks who prepared meals.

As one who ate and lived in the same pavilion as the sect's absolute ruler, he enjoyed every privilege.

"When you enter the Sect Master's bedchamber or office, look over everything carefully and remember it. Even the position of a small furnishing must not differ from usual. Balance and beauty. If serving the Sect Master has a martial art, those are its two essential principles. Just like your face."

"But you just said she enjoys getting drunk..."

"Do you think the senses of a peerless master would be muddled by mere intoxication?"

Throughout it all, Yeon-shin fought against his impatience.

Swift Heaven Wing Squad, Heaven-Treading Forest Squad, Immortal Wood Spirit Squad. Whenever anxiety rose over what had happened to his Black Uniform seniors and their subordinates, he endured it. He drank in every piece of information Wanyang let slip as though it were sweet nectar.

The Golden-Wing Sect Master was the absolute ruler of the faction between orthodox and unorthodox.

She was neither an orthodox sect figure who spoke of righteousness nor a hegemonic master who submitted to martial arts and strength.

Coercion and armed conflict would not work against her.

That left negotiation or infiltration, and the former was not an option.

If Desolate Fortress's three martial squads had entered the flood dragon's formation, then the Golden-Wing Sect had effectively taken Yeon-shin's people hostage.

Two days passed.

As he watched and learned the skills of an attendant from Wanyang, he devised a way to defeat the Golden-Wing Sect Master.

It was an environment where he could attack at any moment if he prepared properly. He could enter the inner residence without even using the Body Movement Scripture, and the Sect Master's guard was astonishingly lax.

'There aren't any guard martial artists near Sect Master Hall at all.'

It was as though she were proclaiming without saying it aloud that no master in Sichuan could threaten her.

"Today is the day of an important gathering. Normally, we attendants do not accompany her to such events, but she ordered you and me to fill the seats at the back. We must attend the Sect Master to Golden-Wing Hall."

Wanyang spoke after calling Yeon-shin to the detached residence outside Sect Master Hall.

Sunlight brightly enveloped the mountain ridge. He glanced at Yeon-shin, who seemed dreamily wreathed in white light, and marveled anew.

"They say the Sect Master's eye technique can see through walls... I wonder if she saw your face before entering her cultivation trance. You're making me resentful for no reason."

There was more breath in his voice than usual. His final words carried a faintly unpleasant edge, though his lips still held a genial smile.

'What was that?'

It was unexpected to Yeon-shin, who had regarded the Golden-Wing Sect's disciples as no more than scenery.

He did not even find it tedious. The martial world inhabited by the current Leader of Demon Wings stood too high for him to bother with such petty conflicts, even while infiltrating the sect.

"This doesn't seem like a sect that indulges in personal remarks."

Yeon-shin spoke. Wanyang's smile deepened.

"I've wondered whether to say this all along... That subtly arrogant attitude of yours. Before you see the Sect Master, I..."

Yeon-shin did not listen further and walked toward Sect Master Hall. Now I've seen everything.

"What are you doing? Hey!"

He had made an enemy of Wanyang on the spot. It did not matter. Starting today, he would be able to stand at the Golden-Wing Sect Master's side.

* * *

After the spar in which the Tang Family Head had been defeated by the Golden-Wing Sect Master without being able to do anything, the Golden-Wing Sect disciples' morale had soared to the heavens.

It was not because they had newly realized how formidable their Sect Master was. It was simply because Full Heaven Flower Rain, capable of sealing the flood dragon's movements, was on the verge of falling into their hands.

Golden-Wing Hall of the Golden-Wing Sect.

It was the largest great hall in an enormous manor.

Its interior was equally spectacular. Statues of Golden-Winged Rocs devouring dragons in all manner of forms surrounded the hall. Dust carrying clusters of light drifted slowly through the gaps between them.

Yeon-shin stood beside one statue whose beak was splitting apart a dragon pearl. He was directly behind the stone throne where the Golden-Wing Sect Master sat.

'Just as Wanyang told me.'

A woman of small stature, dressed in a crimson-gold long robe.

Translucent aura rippled from her black hair, which fell only far enough to lightly cover the back of her neck. The sweet fragrance unique to Scented Snow Wine spread from the jade gourd flask in her hand.

An odd transcendence emanated from her slowly rising and falling upper body.

She was said to have mastered Dynamic Training, and even while conducting business, she had not stopped regulating her breath and circulating her qi. She truly could be said to be mad for catching dragons.

'Grandfather said a surprise attack would be meaningless against an exceptionally powerful Purple Uniform master...'

Yeon-shin repeatedly considered striking alone, then abandoned the idea. Even if immense luck allowed him to inflict a mortal wound, it would still be a problem.

The mission's priority was clear. He could not block his path to rescuing his comrades by alerting the enemy.

―Yeon-shin. A peerless master who has reached Transcendent Martial Art and Five Qi Return to Origin is someone who can weave every move they have learned into a single strike. Their speed when they act will be beyond anything you imagine.

'I need to meet her eyes to judge her properly.'

He had not seen the Golden-Wing Sect Master's face.

While he had been bickering with Wanyang, who kept glancing at him from the side, the Golden-Wing Sect Master had departed first without bothering to wait for them.

"The Sect Master is magnificent as always."

A young person's clear voice filled the hall. It praised the Golden-Wing Sect Master's bearing and spirit rather than her appearance. The manner of speech itself was highly polished.

It was a beggar.

Their plain clothes were patched in several places, and they wore a small flask and gourd at their side. Six knots were tied into the cord at their waist.

Their appearance was quite shabby, yet they gave off no foul odor. Though they sat at the far end of one of the two rows of seats extending from either side of the place of honor, their bearing was relaxed.

Yeon-shin recognized them.

The Successor Beggar of the Beggars’ Sect. He had seen them in the City of Master Craftsmen.

What was the successor of an orthodox sect, often grouped among the Nine Sects and One Gang, doing in the Golden-Wing Sect?

Their expression was markedly different from the gloomy faces of the Poison Dragon and Poison Phoenix siblings seated opposite them. It seemed they had come as a guest, not a prisoner.

At that moment, the eyes of the Successor Beggar, who had been smiling at the Golden-Wing Sect Master's face, met Yeon-shin's.

The beggar's lips formed a silent, impressed oh. Yeon-shin did not enjoy it. He had been glancing at the Tang siblings without showing pity.

From the time he had created the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel in Sichuan's City of Master Craftsmen to the time his grandfather had perished together with the Blood Flame Sect Master in the Tang Sect.

The Successor Beggar's strange disposition had made Yeon-shin uncomfortable.

It was the same now.

"Someone fitting to stand beside the Sect Master's elegance is present. Is this your new attendant?"

"Get to the point."

The moment an aged voice rang out, the dust in the hall rippled like an earthquake. An old man sat toward the front on the Golden-Wing Sect Master's left. The inner power carried in his voice was excessively heavy.

He was said to be the Left Protector, one of the Golden-Wing Sect's two great protectors.

Yeon-shin recalled the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader. The nature and weight of the inner energy they had cultivated were both similar.

'Could Senior Xiahou have fought that man?'

A blue light flashed through his eyes.

"The Tang Family Head's recovery date is unknown, and aren't we all in a position where we must urgently deal with the flood dragon in Sichuan? If you release the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison for a time, I will ensure you witness a Full Heaven Flower Rain no less formidable than Poison Commander's ultimate technique."

The Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison was an epithet referring collectively to the Tang Family's genius siblings. The Left Protector snorted.

"A beggar dares play such a petty trick. We cannot send those two Tang children away because their aptitude is exceptional. Why should we trust you not to leak Full Heaven Flower Rain outside? Many sects covet those two, along with that peerless divine art."

"Ah."

The Successor Beggar smiled.

"I do not mean to improve the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison's attainments. I intend to make use of their connection."

"Explain yourself."

"Poison Commander, the Tang Family Head's Full Heaven Flower Rain, was certainly tremendous. But isn't he a figure who has fallen into decline? In the martial world today, someone who can unleash a more powerful Full Heaven Flower Rain walks freely through the martial world."

"Dark King Among Flowers...?"

The Sichuan epithet of Seom-ye, Leader of Demon Wings, was mentioned. The hall, filled with more than ten dragon catcher masters, fell quiet. The Successor Beggar's smile widened slightly.

The young Poison Phoenix and Poison Dragon's eyes sharpened as well.

But with their mute acupoints sealed, they could not make a sound. Only the Successor Beggar's voice rang clearly through the hall.

"The late Supreme Family Head of the Tang Sect had a servant he used in utmost secrecy. I heard that person speak of the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison's aptitude. If it is the Leader of Demon Wings I have seen, he will never be able to ignore..."

Patter.

The Successor Beggar's words stopped. Pebbles fell from the ceiling of the hall.

A monstrous suction force arose.

Whoooosh! Craaash!

In an instant, every speck of dust in the hall was drawn behind the place of honor. At the same time, the shattered ceiling split wide to either side, its fragments streaming like earth caught in a typhoon.

The Golden-Wing Sect Master turned her head back.

Footnotes:

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