WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 364: Perfect Completeness (5)
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* * *
The night was blue.
By the time Jeong Yeon-shin and his group reached Xiahou Wi-jin’s village, evening had fallen.
Softly glowing stars filled the pitch-black night sky within the formation. No one could tell whether they were real.
“...”
Before the cold anvil.
Jeong Yeon-shin saw the Tang siblings standing amid the faint night mist.
They looked as though only the shells of their bodies remained. They were smiling, yet none of their usual liveliness remained.
Their complexions were paler than the starlight overhead. Only the sight of them standing firm with hammers in hand made them seem solid.
“They forged the sword, then died.”
Xiahou Wi-jin spoke evenly. Perhaps because he had just received news of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad Leader’s death, his voice was slightly hoarse.
Cheon So-so beside him was calm as well. Though she had not been close to the Tang siblings, she had witnessed countless comrades die in the course of their missions for a very long time.
Jeong Yeon-shin was different.
Without a word, he stepped toward the siblings.
Step.
His pace was slow. Before he could even consider why they had met their deaths, his upper dantian sent him an intuition like a whisper.
Jeong Yeon-shin immediately understood what had happened.
‘Mental power.’
They had pushed the power of their upper dantians to its limit.
As they forged the blade until it was unyielding, hammered its surface while attending to an almost imperceptible balance, and poured spirituality into the weapon, they must have displayed an ability beyond their skill.
Just as he had when he first created Sword Song.
Had the siblings felt it?
Death drawing nearer with every strike of the hammer.
“I tried to collect the bodies, but they would not budge even with four grown men lifting them. The traces of spirituality within your sword have taken root in the Tang children’s feet.”
The short old man quietly approached and stood beside the dead siblings.
He was the village’s former chief. As perceptive as his wrinkled face was remarkable, he glanced at the Divine Hand Radiant King before looking at Jeong Yeon-shin, unable to hide his admiration.
“It seems you truly changed the order of this land. Desolate Fortress remains Desolate Fortress even here.”
“Did they leave any final words?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked without taking his eyes from the siblings.
The former chief smiled bitterly.
“They said they would forge a sword for the Tang family’s benefactor, so we were to tell them everything we knew about the True Silver Ore in this land. They practiced casting and forging a few times, then immediately began working the bellows.”
“...”
“That was all. I have never seen geniuses like them before.”
As he spoke, he stared fixedly at the divine sword tied to the Leader of Demon Wings’ waist.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly clasped his hands in salute to the dwarven elder, who did not hide his awe, then withdrew his attention.
It meant there were no final words.
Only a single sword remained.
Rustle.
Jeong Yeon-shin silently faced the night air.
The cold air brushed past his sleeves. At that moment, he found it difficult to tell where the wind’s tail ended.
“You need time to mourn. I’ll head inside first.”
Huangbo Gon patted his shoulder and trudged past him.
Though no one was there to show him to a lodging, he looked ready to sleep anywhere. Even after learning that the Huangbo Family had fallen, the Divine Hand Radiant King’s expression still seemed calm and brazen.
His true feelings were impossible to read. The only time he had fully shown emotion was when he marveled at Jeong Yeon-shin’s Marrow Cleansing and Bone Reforging.
He was someone anyone other than Jeong Yeon-shin would struggle to handle alone.
Xiahou Wi-jin glanced at the back of the Divine Hand Radiant King’s head, then spoke to his junior.
“...We left the siblings there because forcibly lifting them looked like it might damage the bodies. The spirituality suffusing them was so dense that there was no sign of decay. If there is no other way, we can dig deep around them and cut out the earth. I’ll help if needed.”
“Thank you for the advice. Please get some rest.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke quietly.
Though his tone was not particularly firm, his Black Uniform seniors said nothing further.
As Xiahou Wi-jin and Cheon So-so started walking, the former village chief, who had been staring at the Leader of Demon Wings’ divine sword, also had to leave.
Xiahou Wi-jin’s large hand gripped the back of his neck.
“He is my junior. He is close to becoming Desolate Fortress’s next Purple Uniform, so do not make a fool of yourself.”
“I understand, so let go of me...! It is that broad forehead of yours that has no sense!”
The dark silence settled only briefly.
Jeong Yeon-shin slowly spoke.
“Come out.”
“You are becoming harder to deceive.”
The voice was clearly enunciated, yet carried a rough resonance. It was strangely distorted, as though a naturally clear voice had been forcibly scraped by inner power.
Tap.
All at once.
The hem of a pure white cloak appeared as its wearer landed. Then the entire figure emerged brightly from the darkness, including a silver mask that covered only the forehead to the tip of the nose.
Mystery enveloped the figure from head to toe.
The Ming Cult’s Young Sect Master.
“Off having fun?”
At Jeong Yeon-shin’s question, the Young Sect Master shrugged.
“I had much to do. I had to manipulate this formation’s life gate and death gate to stop the Golden-Wing Sect Master from forcing their way in, inspect the flood dragon’s traces... and occasionally reinforce the sorcery power of the sorcery martial art that bound your wife to your shadow. It is almost a heaven-defying art. I wonder whether you understand how extraordinary that is.”
“My ears hurt.”
“As expected. My one and only person who understands me recognizes it.”
The Young Sect Master’s dark blue eyes behind the mask followed Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze to the Tang siblings for a moment.
“Ah. It was because of those children.”
“What was?”
“The reason your wife became frightened. I thought the aura structure of the Tang siblings’ upper dantians was remarkably similar to yours. When I examined their acupoints, I found they were a joint creation of the Blood Flame Sect and the Tang family.”
“...”
“You spent a considerable time at the Blood Flame Sect’s main headquarters, did you not? Your sharp-eyed wife must have said she wished to care for you, then made a sloppy anatomical diagram and passed it to the Tang family. The Blood Flame Sect Master and the Tang Sect’s Supreme Family Head probably followed it and made the twins like that.”
“I told you. She is not my wife.”
“In there.”
The Young Sect Master’s long finger pointed at Jeong Yeon-shin’s shadow.
“Your wife is hiding there, trembling. It must be because you are very angry right now.”
The Young Sect Master finished with one corner of their mouth raised. The sheen flowing like waves across the silver mask seemed to deepen their amusement.
“State your purpose.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke quietly.
He sensed an intention behind the Young Sect Master’s behavior.
Some martial artists of the Demonic Sect, skilled in provocation, were said to make battles easier by casually speaking words that stirred an opponent’s blind fighting spirit.
The Young Sect Master was likely the same. Unlike the current Leader of Demon Wings, they could not have grown up straightforwardly.
Whether aware of his thoughts or not, the Young Sect Master clapped.
A white scarf fluttered in the sharp currents of wind stretching from Jeong Yeon-shin’s body.
“What tremendous vigor. Even after putting the old monsters of the Biyok Peng Family, Peng Yeo-ran, and Yi Si-myeong in that state.”
“My seniors slew the Wind Lord.”
“In any case.”
The Young Sect Master lazily waved a hand.
“I tested your remaining strength because we may have to deal with the flood dragon’s cast-off skin in the future. It was completely needless concern.”
“Explain in detail.”
“First, I found nothing. I searched every corner of the formation, but I could not find even a single scale from the flood dragon. It would have been nice if it had at least left behind an inner core.”
“I do not care.”
“Thank you for the comfort.”
The Young Sect Master continued slowly.
“Still, we have seen all there is to see, so we must leave. The moment we open space to the outside, the spirituality remaining in the flood dragon’s formation will react.”
“How?”
Jeong Yeon-shin asked, slowly removing his hand from the sword hilt.
Seeing that, the Young Sect Master’s shoulders slumped dramatically. It seemed to be an expression of relief.
Even though Jeong Yeon-shin had not yet calculated his exact odds against the Young Sect Master.
“Keep in mind that the flood dragon’s Nascent Soul Spirit may manifest.”
“Now?”
“Spiritual beasts that fail to ascend are extremely greedy. They leave prey that enters their territory alone, but they never stand by and watch something leave.”
Nascent Soul Spirit.
It was a state spoken of in Taoism. Spirituality that amplified the power of qi became fully united with inner power through a certain harmony, creating another body.
Among common folk, it was famous through rumors that Immortal Master High Sword of the Wudang Sect used a duplicate-body art.
How many people in the world could withstand two identical peerless masters unleashing the Ten Brocades Palm?
Then what would the flood dragon’s duplicate be like?
“Of course, it will be far inferior to the original body, and it may not even appear... but it is worth remembering, is it not?”
“I understand.”
“Then, once dawn comes tomorrow, the formation...”
“Two days from now.”
“What?”
“We leave with the commoners.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke without taking his eyes from the Tang siblings.
* * *
Everything proceeded swiftly.
Xiahou Wi-jin and Cheon So-so led the effort to gather the people scattered throughout the formation.
The space would soon perish. Once the formation vanished, it was impossible to know what would happen to those left behind.
The Immortal Wood Spirit Squad and the Heaven-Treading Forest Squad were assembled.
Roughly half of the Swift Heaven Wing Squad had entered the formation, and they gathered as well.
“That is Seom-ye?”
“He truly defeated the Biyok Peng Family alone...!”
Nearly sixty people were astonished by Jeong Yeon-shin’s appearance as they gathered the commoners.
Those who occasionally rushed in to seize Cheon So-so’s sapling were driven back by the Divine Hand Radiant King’s kicks whenever they crossed the village fence.
“I have never retired from the martial world, so getting some outside air should not be much of a disgrace.”
Huangbo Gon lay atop the tall barricade like an idle wanderer, unconstrained by the martial order of orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions.
Even after hearing the Ming Cult Young Sect Master’s identity, he only said, “Please take good care of me,” as though speaking to a coachman driving a carriage.
Two days passed that way.
Jeong Yeon-shin spent those two days and nights with the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison.
He sat cross-legged before the siblings.
He meditated with his eyes half-closed, and whenever night came with stars glittering overhead, he would occasionally look at them.
Rather than the overly bright sunlight, starlight made the siblings stand out more clearly.
With the divine sword resting across both knees, Jeong Yeon-shin occasionally wondered.
Could he, like the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison, leave a deep mark on the world? The divine sword left behind as their final work would become immensely famous one day, without ever breaking.
“Shouldn’t you get up soon?”
The voice came from above him.
Jeong Yeon-shin opened his eyes at the Young Sect Master’s voice.
Under the orange twilight.
He saw the crowd surrounding him. There were too many people to count, martial artists, dwarves, and mixed-bloods of every clan mingled together.
Had the events Jeong Yeon-shin caused spread far and wide?
No one in the crowd dared speak.
They watched him cautiously with curious or fearful eyes. Unlike the martial world outside, everyone here knew the truth of Jeong Yeon-shin’s martial prowess.
Jeong Yeon-shin rose to his feet, leaving the Tang siblings’ bodies, still standing motionlessly, behind him.
‘There are many.’
The village was packed with people, all densely gathered at the center to be included in the Young Sect Master’s sorcery formation.
He sensed Xiahou Wi-jin and Cheon So-so far off to either side.
They formed an array protecting the commoners. Their subordinates scattered throughout the area watched for the approach of the old monsters who had tried to seize the sapling.
It was very quiet.
The Young Sect Master standing beside him spread both arms.
“I told you. It will be over in a moment.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Yeon-shin nodded.
He had already heard it. The flood dragon was a supernatural being that freely traversed eternity and an instant.
“It truly will be brief.”
Like an older brother or sister who nagged too much, the Young Sect Master spoke again.
“Unless someone possesses senses like yours or mine, there is a strong chance no one will even be able to react. Remember that.”
Jeong Yeon-shin remained silent, thinking that the Young Sect Master was too fond of needless words.
The Young Sect Master’s lips curved faintly.
“Let us begin.”
The moment the Young Sect Master’s leather shoe stamped the ground once,
Kwoooooong!
A thunderous roar suddenly began racing in a single curved line from the outside.
The blocks of True Silver Ore placed all along the long barricade as dharma implements shattered one after another.
It happened in an instant.
Ancient characters of unknown meaning and complex patterns carved themselves into the crushed earth, forming a single sorcery formation in a vast circle.
Some dwarves with keen aura senses let out soundless cheers.
Whoosh!
The sky suddenly darkened. It felt as though the surroundings had sunk into an abyss.
Something had cast a shadow.
Jeong Yeon-shin looked up. Natural qi so densely condensed that it sent chills down his spine covered the entire formation before anyone could react.
Wooooooong!
A long, immensely thick shadow loomed in the sky, staring down at the ground with its mouth open.
A long snout filled with countless protruding teeth, terrifying eyes above it, pupils gleaming like enormous black obsidian...
Impossible to oppose.
Its head alone was nearly half the size of the village.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes widened.
‘This is...’
The martial world in which Desolate Fortress’s Purple Uniforms lived, where every kind of supernatural being, spiritual beast, and absolute master roamed.
“The flood dragon! The flood dragon...!”
“The Dragon God is angry!”
“N-no...”
“How can this be?!”
Many of those who had fallen into panic vanished without a trace.
The sorcery formation had opened the life gate of the invisible formation. The people before Jeong Yeon-shin disappeared one after another in an instant.
The line reached right before him before he could even blink once.
“It really came out. Well, I completed the sorcery formation.”
The Young Sect Master’s calm voice rang out.
Then it happened without warning.
The commoners ahead all passed through the formation. Just as the Young Sect Master, who had glanced upward, began to fade,
Kwoooooong!
The space ahead filled with a crimson bolt of flame.
It was the breath exhaled by the flood dragon’s shadow.
It was incomparably enormous. The air warped wildly in an instant, and the flame bolt surged right before Jeong Yeon-shin, releasing a devastating vibration.
At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin felt the sorcery formation’s pull dragging him beyond the formation. He turned the Light Wheel in his heart once and faintly weakened the sorcery power.
Not yet.
The siblings remained behind him. So did the commoners.
Those who noticed the devastating flame bolt too late drew ragged breaths in inevitable terror.
At that moment, the scene before Jeong Yeon-shin slowed.
The realm of supreme transcendence.
Step.
He took a step forward instead.
As he sensed the urgent presences of his seniors rushing toward him, he recalled the siblings, their breaths stilled as starlight bathed them.
Crunch.
The sound came from his heart.
One layer of the Light Wheel peeled away, and countless faint fragments of light flowed from his body.
At the same time, every acupoint across his body breathed according to the mnemonic formula of Myriad Flowers Rain, weaving a garment from that starlight.
It took but an instant for it to envelop him.
Jeong Yeon-shin, draped in pale starlight like silken robes, turned his back to the Tang siblings and collided with the enormous flame bolt.
Footnotes:
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