WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 357: Breakneck Rush (6)
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A method for concealing the aura that originated from the Divine Blood Extreme Demon.
It was not used solely to hide one's identity. It was also highly effective in contests between masters.
Deceiving an opponent's aura sense was, in itself, like using a feint.
The reason a highly skilled martial artist could evade an attack from behind was that the inner power within their body constantly perceived the outside world beyond the five senses.
It was the same now.
The elder masters guarding the manor's main gate.
The two old men blocking Jeong Yeon-shin's path could not fully sense the Light Wheel's rotation.
They merely raised their white brows, as though they were witnessing a martial art whose execution produced an unusually flamboyant spectacle.
At that moment, they saw the spiraling currents surging from Jeong Yeon-shin's palms as nothing more than empty show.
They were elder masters capable of imitating such an appearance with ease.
Flap, flap.
The robes of the old men standing with their hands behind their backs fluttered in the raging vortex. They looked like carefree immortals. It suited people who had come to capture a flood dragon.
The two old men calmly exchanged words as they watched Jeong Yeon-shin.
"That old man couldn't keep his temper in check."
"He seems to think he's still in the world of those children outside, not the martial world of the Two Kings and Three Lords."
"Look at that temper, and that wind. He must have learned some domineering martial art. How many youngsters outside must have waited on him?"
"But who is he?"
"How many people came here and went into seclusion the moment they arrived? Taemo Mountain Fortress did not bind us together. It only opened its doors."
They had arrived through Taemo Mountain Fortress's sorcery arts, not as members of the Golden-Wing Sect. They mistook Jeong Yeon-shin for an elder master who had come with them.
They spoke with the unhurried bearing unique to elder masters who had trained in martial arts for a long time.
The elders facing Jeong Yeon-shin seemed unable to recognize the character for Desolation on his shoulder for what it was.
"Listen, I'll give you some advice out of concern. If you don't want to end up like those slaves down there, your status..."
The elder on the left referred to the dwarven artisans from the villages as slaves, then trailed off.
The manner and bearing of an elder master who did not envy Rejuvenation turned to faint embarrassment the moment their eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin's indifferent gaze.
'They talk like the martial nobility of the Eight Families. Daoist martial artists, at that.'
Jeong Yeon-shin silently stepped toward the two old men.
In the Ming, no citizen could own slaves. The system of hired labor had to be strictly followed, and people could only be employed if they were paid wages.
The Ming imperial family had forbidden the ownership of slaves, bondservants, and servants for generations.
The laws of the Yuan Dynasty they had overthrown included the line, "Slaves are like objects." The Ming imperial family had an almost unnatural hostility toward such traditions of the previous dynasty.
In the early days of the dynasty, they had exterminated the entire clan of a martial faction near Nanjing for capturing elven men and women and using them as slaves, making an example of them.
That was why, when the Huangbo Family was wiped out for forcing commoners into private labor, only martial artists condemned Desolate Fortress for being too harsh.
That was how the imperial family governed the country. They made examples of traitors who ignored the Great Ming Code and failed to pay their workers proper wages.
The manor of the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King stood behind the elders.
It was magnificent.
The sweeping roofs did not seem like simple structures, but sculptures. It was plainly the work of dwarven artisans.
"Did you pay the artisans for their work?"
When Jeong Yeon-shin asked, the elder on the right slowly raised both arms into an opening stance and responded with a question.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"You secluded yourself in deep mountains and valleys, even achieving Rejuvenation. You've placed the whole world beneath your gaze. You know no bounds."
The elder on the left chimed in.
It was the sort of manner unique to people who forced others into submission through martial arts.
Jeong Yeon-shin had encountered it more than a few times while carrying out missions as a warrior of Desolate Fortress.
After seeing the Tang siblings' destiny and feeling a fire rise in his heart, he had made the effort to ask lest he attack innocent people. It had been wasted effort.
He extended both hands forward.
The two old men reacted swiftly. Without moving from their positions, they each extended both hands, one taking Jeong Yeon-shin's right hand and the other his left, to knock them aside.
It was a twin-palm technique. Expansive waves of inner power spread from the elder masters' bodies.
Rejuvenation could not be achieved through high martial skill alone. One's enlightenment, fortuitous encounters, and the divine art one had learned all had to be exceptional.
Returning the body's years did not mean one was invincible. That was why the elders did not yield.
Their hands released translucent palm force to block Jeong Yeon-shin's palms. The old confidence in their movements was plain to see.
Then their hands met his.
Kwwaaaang!
The ground shook, and the gate behind the elder masters shattered completely.
It was a terrifying shockwave.
Even the signboard bearing the words Hidden-Realm Peng Family broke apart and flew into the air. The two elder masters were flung in opposite directions through the dust that had burst up in an instant.
At the same time, blood burst from their mouths, mixing with the dirt and fragments of stone.
Step.
The hem of Jeong Yeon-shin's black robes brushed through the thick dust.
He had no interest in the fate of the elder masters, who had smashed through the walls on either side and vanished after leaving huge cracks in them.
Nor did the shock in their eyes linger in his mind.
Then a voice spoke.
"It seems the Jang youths mishandled the reception of a distinguished guest. I offer my sincere apologies."
A clear voice came with a gust of wind that settled the dust.
A quiet pressure lay in that voice. It testified to the profound inner power of the person who had suddenly expressed regret to Jeong Yeon-shin.
Jeong Yeon-shin looked up.
A man with ears as sharp as the tips of leaves stood in the air with his hands behind his back, looking down at Jeong Yeon-shin.
It was superb Void-Stepping.
The pale green long robe rippling in the wind suited his presence. He possessed the gentle aura unique to elven martial artists, yet no particular force could be sensed from him.
He looked as though he had only recently passed thirty. His features were remarkably human-like. At a glance, he was clearly of the elven race, making his age impossible to judge.
"I am Lee Si-myeong."
The man smiled and cupped his fist.
A glint passed through Jeong Yeon-shin's eyes.
It was a name he had heard from Xiahou Wi-jin. One of the especially powerful figures among those who had arrived first. A master who had become the hands and feet of Peng Yeo-ran, the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King, because he admired her.
'Lee Si-myeong, the Wind Lord.'
He was one of the Two Kings and Three Lords. The final successor of the now-defunct Feng Ryeo Sect.
Considering that the other two among the Three Lords were elder masters of the Kunlun Sect and the Beggars’ Sect, he was not someone to underestimate simply because his sect's name carried less weight.
"Since Desolate Fortress's treasured sword has come here, it seems the Golden-Wing Sect has succeeded in the Grand Method for the second time. In any case, those gate guards failed to properly see the shoulder of someone who should have been a guest. They deserved what they got."
The man continued without losing his smile.
"That unrestrained air. I can faintly sense Demon's Light from your body. It seems the later waves of the Yangtze River are stronger."
Lee Si-myeong, Wind Lord of the Two Kings and Three Lords.
He was said to be an elder master.
It was strange to see him looking down at Jeong Yeon-shin with bluish eyes. How strong was the blood of the elven race in him?
Demon's Light was the martial art Jeong Yeon-shin had learned as soon as he entered Desolate Fortress. Its martial principle allowed one to use the most efficient techniques for any situation. This was the first time an enemy had mentioned it first.
The eyes unique to a noble race said to see through the truth had read one of the foundations of the Leader of Demon Wings.
Yet Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly.
"So you know why I came."
"I know you are different from the martial artists here who seek the flood dragon. You came looking for the person who will become our Family Head's spouse, did you not?"
"Watch your words. She is the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit from the main fortress."
Jeong Yeon-shin gave a polite correction to the elder master, who was likely far older than himself.
The man had washed his hands in a golden basin and retired from the martial world outside. There was no need to conform to that world's etiquette.
"Ah."
Lee Si-myeong smiled faintly.
"It seems there has been a misunderstanding. Do you believe the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King forced something upon Ice Soul Cheon So-so?"
"You're picking a worthless argument."
Jeong Yeon-shin's clothes stirred as he raised the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel from his heart.
"I say this because the truth is otherwise."
Lee Si-myeong added slowly.
"How could anyone force such an upright and steadfast supreme master of the Black Uniform rank? Her martial arts may be overcome by force, but her heart cannot."
"Keep talking."
"Cheon So-so chose of her own will to become the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King's spouse. If you still doubt it, you may confirm it yourself."
"..."
The wind that had raged around Jeong Yeon-shin fell silent.
A heavy stillness descended in an instant.
The inner power he had raised to oppose a rare master in the world was concealed in the blink of an eye.
It was a realm where internal cultivation and the heart had become perfectly one. The state of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, which had naturally drawn near since his transformation, had finally settled within Jeong Yeon-shin.
Interest and wariness entered Lee Si-myeong's eyes.
'He is not someone to scheme against immediately.'
The wedding of Peng Yeo-ran was close at hand. He could not afford to brawl with a lone person and bring an ill omen upon an auspicious day.
"Follow me."
Lee Si-myeong turned in midair. Jeong Yeon-shin, who had silently watched him, began walking very slowly.
As he did, he took in each of the elder masters of the Hidden-Realm Peng Family rushing down through the gaps in the collapsed walls, drawn by the disturbance.
This was a den of demons.
There was not a single weak person here.
* * *
―Do not think of causing a disturbance. Even if you hold the Purple Uniform rank in Desolate Fortress, you may not do so here. Stay quiet, speak quietly, and leave quietly. After the wedding is over.
―You're spouting nonsense.
―Our sect master's ultimate move is a technique called the Dragon-Manifesting Heaven-Rending Cannon. It was devised to kill none other than the Golden-Wing Sect Master. A human body cannot withstand it.
That had been the conversation Jeong Yeon-shin shared with Lee Si-myeong while being led to the guest pavilion.
Peng Yeo-ran and Cheon So-so were not in the manor.
Even after fully opening his Light Wheel qi and searching underground, he could not sense the Ice Arts aura unique to the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit.
He sensed only the startled reactions of dozens of powerful elder masters.
Every martial artist of the Hidden-Realm Peng Family belonged to an earlier age.
They were said to avoid anything considered inauspicious. Everyone, from the Family Head to the guests, considered superstition, the divinations of the Book of Changes, and geomancy in every matter.
The Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit could draw wondrous efficacy from a sapling of the World Tree.
The Ghost-Cry Tyrant King, one of the Two Kings.
Ice Soul Cheon So-so carried tremendous symbolic significance.
Whether they summoned a flood dragon or escaped beyond the formation, every Grand Method could be achieved through a sapling of the World Tree.
At least, that was what the martial artists here believed.
The Tyrant King had to take her.
The wedding to be held soon was a ceremony to declare to all that Cheon So-so had become subordinate to Peng Yeo-ran. It would make the matter known far and wide.
To the many dwarven villages and wandering martial artists who could not hide their resentment, to the other of the Two Kings who held the lakeshore where the flood dragon had once rested, and to Immortal Master Void Emptiness, the Dark Lord of the Kunlun Sect, and Man Hugae, the Ghost Lord of the Beggars’ Sect.
Ice Soul and the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King were in seclusion somewhere unknown.
There was no way to know whether they were together or apart.
They would not appear in the manor until the wedding and were said to be scheduled to arrive at the site of the grand ceremony that day.
After learning all this, Jeong Yeon-shin shut himself in the guest pavilion and did not come out.
The elder masters learned that the gate guards had been defeated by a newly arrived guest and lingered around his room, but Lee Si-myeong called them aside and prevented them from approaching rashly.
Five days passed that way.
The vast manor of the Hidden-Realm Peng Family regained its liveliness.
The scent of roasting meat and liquor spread in every direction, while clouds holding faint moonlight drifted slowly beneath the dark sky.
It was the eve of the wedding.
The older elder masters and several elven martial artists sat in the manor courtyard and banquet hall, drinking or playing Go.
Most did not bother to conceal their energy. Invisible waves of inner power, thicker than the smell of liquor, filled every direction.
It was as though an unseen mist had formed thickly over the ground.
"Tomorrow, then."
"Our Family Head is a strange person. Insisting on holding a wedding."
"This isn't the martial world outside anymore. What does it matter what they do?"
"Do you think those people will stay quiet? Choosing an auspicious day may not even mean anything."
"The Dark Lord is detached from worldly matters. He will not come."
"The Radiant King and Ghost Lord are the problem."
"Don't we only need to hold out until the Family Head lifts the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit's face veil? No matter how powerful they are, surely we can manage that much..."
"I'm curious about this newly arrived guest as well. Is the Wind Lord not too confident?"
"The aftermath of his attack was certainly extraordinary. It may be better to cut off his head now."
"That is true. They said the Golden-Wing Sect had come?"
Then it happened.
Tap.
At one corner of the courtyard where the feast was being held, a figure wrapped from head to toe in an exceedingly splendid white cloak stepped onto the ground. A silver mask reached only to the tip of the figure's prominent nose.
"Hm? You are..."
The focus in the eyes of an elder master who met the strange silver-masked figure's gaze blurred. It happened very quietly, without the slightest sign.
The strange figure's lips moved beneath the silver mask.
"I'm looking for the young guest."
The whisper flowed like an order. The lips curved into a crooked smile, and the strange nobility in that presence carried a hint of mockery toward the elder master.
The complexion of the old man with a rough beard brightened. He looked like a man who had encountered the most beautiful being in the world.
Enthralled, the old man slowly extended a finger toward one side.
The Ming Cult Young Sect Master's gaze followed the fingertip and stopped at an annex with no lantern light. It appeared to be the room where its owner slept.
"Over there?"
"Yes."
The Young Sect Master's lips lifted slightly. The young guest being asleep was unexpected.
Then it happened.
Woooong.
All voices suddenly ceased.
The gazes of dozens of elder masters, who had not reacted to the Young Sect Master's presence because of the wonders of concealment sorcery, turned at once.
A room without even a single light.
A silhouette sitting cross-legged suddenly appeared beyond the paper window. A pale glow formed the shape of a person and flickered.
It looked as though the figure wore moonlight like clothing.
Fwoosh!
The moonlight in human form reflected on the paper window deepened. Then the lantern lights hanging throughout the banquet grounds began to be pushed toward the opposite side.
Footnotes:
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