WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 359: Breakneck Rush (8)
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Dawn broke.
It was the day of the wedding.
More than a hundred people stood in a long line along the ocher path leading to the mountain peak.
Clear sunlight glinted through the dew on the shrubs lining both sides of the broad mountain road.
They stood far apart.
At the upper end of the procession, overlooking the line below, Wind Lord Lee Si-myeong stood with his hands behind his back, his blue robes fluttering. Far below, at the other end, Jeong Yeon-shin stood silently with his eyes half-lidded, having entered as a guest of the Hidden-Realm Peng Family.
It was an intentional arrangement.
Masters of the older generation filled the space between them.
Dust swirled beneath the feet of those in martial robes, long robes, and silk long robes. Each radiated a formidable, invisible aura.
The elegant elves with long ears and the old men with flowing beards were no exception.
To make his way up, Jeong Yeon-shin would have to pass every old monster of the Hidden-Realm Peng Family lined up before him.
They had prepared no ordinary ceremony.
The first rite of a grand wedding was for the bride to travel by a small boat to the place where their spouse-to-be awaited.
The Hidden-Realm Peng Family had made their own procession stand in for that waterway.
It was a display of might for those watching from the ridge and the slope below.
This was the occasion on which the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King would marry the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit.
More than a hundred people had gathered along the ridge after hearing the news.
Old masters from every clan stared in stunned silence at the Hidden-Realm Peng Family, which occupied more than three hundred jang of mountain road in a single line.
“Look at that lineup. Wind Lord Lee Si-myeong, Severing Gate Ghost Saber Peng Mo-ran, more than a hundred old monsters who refuse to die...”
“They brought their full strength.”
“If the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit can fully draw out the sapling’s power, she may be able to rule this realm, whose lifespan is nearly exhausted, as she pleases. She could reinforce the formation’s stability or exile a few who incur her displeasure.”
“The balance of power will change.”
“Isn’t that frightening? From now on, everything in this land will depend on the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King’s will.”
“Today, she is marrying Ice Soul Cheon So-so, and she possesses both the martial strength and the power to protect her. She is an absolute ruler.”
“I wonder how the others among the Two Kings and Three Lords will react. They will surely appear here... It would not be strange if someone tried to take Cheon So-so from her.”
“It would be best to keep one’s head down today.”
They were old masters who had lived in seclusion.
They certainly existed in the world, yet could never be found. Within this completely isolated realm, they had established an order of their own.
They had arrived in this land through dealings with Taemo Mountain Fortress, but after seeing the flood dragon with their own eyes, they had devoted themselves to training and survival.
That had been decades ago.
No one could take their eyes off the mountain road where the wedding was being held.
They had to watch.
To live safely in this land overflowing with natural earth qi, they needed to know every detail of the balance of power among the Two Kings and Three Lords.
“Hmm? Look at that character for Hwang. There is someone from Desolate Fortress as well.”
“That isn’t the bald Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader. I’ve never seen him before.”
“So the rumors were true.”
“Did the Golden-Wing Sect Master truly open the formation?”
Part of the crowd stirred upon seeing Jeong Yeon-shin.
The old masters were not surprised by the presence of a single Black Uniform.
They merely furrowed their brows because the arrival of an unfamiliar person might signal the Golden-Wing Sect Master’s appearance.
“Even the Golden-Wing Sect... One disturbance after another will come.”
“Even so, that child from Desolate Fortress seems to have accepted this land’s order. Though he must have come to rescue the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit...”
“He has seen the force under the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King’s command. Who would not despair after seeing those old monsters?”
“Desolate Fortress has lost face as well. So has that Heaven-Treading Forest Squad Leader, guarding a mere village.”
“Aren’t they children of the lower Jianghu, the Lower Realm? Even if they meddle in what the seniors of the Immortal Realm are planning, they will only suffer losses. He is being wise.”
None of those surrounding the mountain road wished to face the Hidden-Realm Peng Family. They merely watched.
Though they were deeply interested in today’s affair, the old masters remained at ease.
“Desolate Fortress... It was rather feared in the mortal world.”
“It certainly was when it served under the imperial court. Kill one, and another would come seeking revenge.”
“How could the Divine Sword Corps’ seventeen black blades reach all the way here? From the look of it, that fellow came alone after currying favor with the Golden-Wing Sect Master.”
Many regarded the flood dragon’s mystic realm as a Peach Blossom Paradise inhabited by transcendent beings who had each achieved ascension as an immortal through martial arts.
It felt far removed from worldly affairs. Even the elders who looked sympathetically upon the other Desolate Fortress Squad Leader, who was about to lose the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit, did not seem particularly concerned.
Some who appeared to come from the Demonic Sect even wore mocking smiles.
“Look at that gold thread. He is the Lord of Desolate Fortress’ direct disciple.”
“He is no royal, no matter how one looks at him. What could have possessed that peerless beauty?”
“Now that I see his face, I understand why he was chosen.”
They deliberately tossed out such remarks despite being unable to sense any aura from Jeong Yeon-shin and knowing his bearing was extraordinary.
Their words and conduct revealed the martial world’s hostility toward Desolate Fortress.
Even after reaching a Peach Blossom Paradise filled with natural earth qi, they remained martial artists of the Jianghu.
The longer Jeong Yeon-shin remained silent, the more their crude jokes and mockery intensified.
Saaah.
A sudden breeze scattered fine white fluff into the air.
Seeds of golden hairpin grass, another name for dandelions.
Not one of the tiny white tufts from those flowers would leave this place.
Just like the old masters who had made the mystic land created by the flood dragon their home.
“You talk too much.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke at last, continuing slowly.
“For old men who will soon die.”
His voice rang quietly across the mountain road.
Something beyond inner power seemed to dwell within that exceptionally clear voice. Was it spirituality, said to reside only within divine arts?
The surroundings fell silent for a moment.
Jeong Yeon-shin had come here intending to push his martial arts, whose true level even he found difficult to gauge, to their utmost limit.
The young man of Jeong Family Manor, now part of Desolate Fortress, had long since settled into a sense of security he had never known before.
At some point, he had begun to grieve for Desolate Fortress martial artists who died far from home. Whenever he imagined one of his comrades turning away from the main fortress, his heart ached.
It was the same even if that person was Cheon So-so, the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit. Even a senior with whom he had never formed a deep bond felt closer than his second brother, Jeong Joong-san.
That was his martial home.
While the old masters doubted their ears, Jeong Yeon-shin looked toward the distant Wind Lord Lee Si-myeong and parted his lips again.
“When are the people involved coming?”
An old elven master with the appearance of a handsome young man snickered.
“They have already gone ahead. The Ghost-Cry Tyrant King and the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit are holding their wedding at the end of this road.”
“What?”
“Once they have displayed their might, there is no need to take the greater risk of losing her. After the ceremony, our Tyrant King will descend from above with the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit.”
“...”
Jeong Yeon-shin opened his eyes fully.
‘A wedding. They said it was the greatest promise of one’s life.’
He thought.
This land was deeply sinister. Everyone here was accustomed to strange arts. This was the kind of Jianghu a Purple Uniform had to navigate, where every possibility had to be considered. Those who wielded strange sorcerous martial arts were everywhere.
Sorcery arts produced wondrous effects through mantras, and mantras were human speech.
The moment Cheon So-so spoke words of oath during the ceremony, whether willingly or under coercion, some sorcery art might activate.
Like the restriction that had once prevented White Qilin Namgung Hwa-shin from harming a Namgung Family martial artist.
White Qilin, who was said to be seeking Black Uniform after surpassing Clear Qilin, still could not take assignments in Southern Zhili because the Namgung Family was there.
There was no time.
As the black-robed youth recognized the urgency of the situation, a dandelion seed with a white tuft swirled around his feet.
It gradually began to turn in a large circle.
It was the Record of the Dharma Light Wheel.
The old masters nearby reacted at once.
“How dare you!”
“Child of Desolate Fortress, remain where you are.”
“If you act rashly, you may never again return to the Lord’s embrace...!”
Puhak!
The massive old man who had threatened him with his hands behind his back burst apart in a spray of flesh.
It happened just after Jeong Yeon-shin extended his right hand.
A moment later, a belated boom rang out. A translucent circular shock wave surged outward, kicking up enormous clouds of dust.
He died instantly.
The old master who had spoken of the Lord of Desolate Fortress did not even leave behind an intact corpse.
“...”
Shattered bone fragments and clumps of muscle brushed past the gaps between Jeong Yeon-shin’s fingers. The soft plops of scattered entrails falling filled the silence.
He silently stared ahead.
Once one figure had been cleared from his view, another old man stood in his way.
His eyes were wide, and his wrinkled hand gripped a sword hilt. He was a lean swordsman.
Desolate Fortress’ Leader of Demon Wings took another step.
His lightness skill, Ten Miles of Deep Light.
The old masters crowding the foot of the mountain saw it happen.
Step.
His movement was as slow as a leisurely walk.
Was it an illusion? Faint starlight seemed to gleam at the tip of his foot.
An afterimage trailed behind the light.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s figure blurred and distorted. At the same time, the shrubs that had leaned toward him all fell in the opposite direction.
Boom!
The ground caved in, forming a large circle.
Jeong Yeon-shin shot forward in a straight line, and the old swordsman blocking his way shattered with a thunderous crash.
Before the old swordsman could draw his sword, Jeong Yeon-shin’s hand, carrying Radiant River, swept past and shoved aside the old swordsman’s abdomen.
Unable to withstand the force wave’s impact for even a moment, the old man’s body and sword shattered and flew in all directions.
Kwang!
A heavy roar, a Helix of exploding waves, the black-robed youth leaping along the mountain path, and blood spraying high behind him...
The sight was etched into the spectators’ eyes like a dream.
Two attacks had unfolded in an instant.
It was difficult to believe even while witnessing it.
Hwaaaak!
Jeong Yeon-shin tore through the wind with his entire body. His violently fluttering black sleeves brushed against his skin.
Within moments, he had leapt over the heads of a hundred people, and the faces of dozens of flustered old masters entered his sight.
After landing at the rear of their formation, Jeong Yeon-shin moved his hand to his waist.
Sreung.
The Moyong Family Head’s Meteor Sword was drawn, releasing a brilliant radiance.
As the old monsters narrowed their eyes and drew their weapons, erupting with overwhelming auras, Jeong Yeon-shin made the Light Wheel in his heart spin even more fiercely.
Thunderclap Flash-Ridge Sword Art, Judging the Qilin.
Chwaaaak!
Cold silver light slashed diagonally through the air.
Jeong Yeon-shin, gripping the Meteor Sword, slashed upward through the bodies of the old masters rushing toward him.
The mystery contained within that straight trajectory was anything but simple.
The sword-gripping method that overcame the air’s resistance in an instant as he adjusted his grip. The propulsive force wave that erupted like a tidal wave from the Tianzong acupoint at his shoulder blade to his elbow. The transparent ripples spreading through the air from Jeong Yeon-shin’s whole-body Force Projection.
“Huh!”
“What a waste of such talent...!”
Those who felt that supremely swift, genius-level attack with their own bodies fell with expressions of wonder.
They died with those same expressions.
This was only the beginning.
Jeong Yeon-shin began to charge again.
Puk! Puhak!
His right hand held the Meteor Sword low, while his left was wrapped in the Helix currents of Radiant River.
At his feet, the faint white glow of Ten Miles of Deep Light crumbled away in a long, dreamlike trail.
It was a supremely refined yet tyrannical advance.
The wall formed by the crowd exploded and collapsed one section after another. Some were split in half.
Blood burst into scarlet sprays. The ground of the immensely sturdy mystic realm repeatedly exploded upward before raining back down.
Boom! Chwaaaak!
“Move! Upper left!”
“Gah!”
It was a brutal breakthrough.
He crushed their bodies whole and cut them down. The straight-line formation guarding the wedding ceremony crumbled in an instant.
The old masters pursuing from behind could not catch Jeong Yeon-shin as he smashed through the corpses and advanced.
Within moments, he reached the end of the long procession.
Only Wind Lord Lee Si-myeong remained before him.
Fragments of shattered weapons and flesh poured down behind him, yet Jeong Yeon-shin saw only the two women standing face-to-face at the cliff’s edge.
One wore a crimson court official’s robe embroidered with cranes, her hair swept high beneath a black official’s hat.
The other wore a skirt layered in black silk and scarlet fabric, along with a scarlet narrow-sleeved, round-collared robe. A phoenix crown rested upon her head, and a reddish veil hung before her face.
The Ghost-Cry Tyrant King had taken the groom’s role.
She wore a red official’s robe and a black official’s hat, her presence captivating the surroundings.
The veiled woman was Cheon So-so, the Lord of the Immortal Wood Spirit.
The moment her eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin’s, she opened them wide. The Ghost-Cry Tyrant King also glanced at him, then grinned with pink lips and raised a hand toward Cheon So-so’s veil.
Rustle.
She appeared ready to remove it.
It was the final stage of the ceremony.
“You are strong, but you are looking elsewhere.”
Wind Lord Lee Si-myeong’s voice quickly echoed through lip-speech.
Hwaak!
Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes widened.
The lower part of his vision was suddenly filled by a brown leather shoe.
It was Lee Si-myeong’s Wind-Blossom Four-Wheel Kick.
The force wave erupting from one of his legs swirled in every direction like Jeong Yeon-shin’s whole-body Force Projection.
‘If I can’t counter this...’
It was an ultimate technique capable of killing him with a direct hit.
Even if he were fortunate, he would not escape a critical injury.
At that moment, the Meteor Sword hummed uneasily in Jeong Yeon-shin’s grip.
The sword’s durability had reached its limit.
Previously, in the Moyong Family Head’s hands, it had endured countless strikes from Jeong Yeon-shin. Today, it had also taken too many ultimate techniques from old masters in rapid succession.
Time slowed in an instant.
Every possible plan flashed through Jeong Yeon-shin’s mind like rays of light.
‘If I use qi sword control...’
He could reach the Ghost-Cry Tyrant King’s hand.
But he would have to withstand the ultimate moves of the old monsters closing in from behind, as well as the Wind Lord’s Leg Arts, with his own body.
It was far too dangerous a situation to test his half-completed Protective Qi Technique.
The Ghost-Cry Tyrant King had already turned her head toward the one who would become her spouse. Cheon So-so merely flinched, as though she did not recognize Jeong Yeon-shin. The triumphant presences of the old masters, who could experience an instant as though it were eternity, flowed in from every side so vividly that he could almost grasp them.
“Now die.”
Lee Si-myeong’s intent rang beside his ears through his powerful inner energy.
Just before the instep of Lee Si-myeong’s outstretched foot could shatter Jeong Yeon-shin’s neck, the Meteor Sword began to hum.
The sound was almost a melody.
Translucent waves spread outward from the blade.
Footnotes:
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