Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 367

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 367: Peerless Master (2)

──────

Silken hems rustled over the grass.

The sound stood out in the silence.

The younger martial artists, who had been examining the traces left by the Nine Sects’ martial arts, doubted their ears.

Even those who had been glaring murderously at the Five Heroes of Protecting the Sentiments turned their heads.

“The Leader of Demon Wings from Desolate Fortress...?”

“I saw Seom-ye at the Martial Alliance Assembly in Hanzhong, but that person’s build was different.”

“He was much younger, too.”

“Of all people to lie to, you had to lie before Qingcheng and Ami’s two esteemed masters...”

They were a group of younger martial artists traveling with experts from the Nine Sects.

All twelve or so had properly studied internal martial arts.

That meant they had built a stable foundation in Sensory Training. They could not be compared to wandering martial artists without even a respectable martial home.

Even while focusing their minds on other matters, they never withdrew their aura sense. They had the skill for it and had survived battlefields where constant vigilance was necessary.

Naturally, they had been watching every movement of the youth in black robes through their senses.

Tension filled the air.

One could not speak disrespectfully before the two eminent masters of the Nine Sects. It would insult those who regarded Ziwei Divine Nun and Taoist Cheong-eun as the leaders of their party.

“Please bear with him, fellow practitioners. This benefactor’s bearing is no ordinary one, so we should not dismiss his words as empty lies.”

“I agree.”

They were the ones who would lead the Nine Sects in the future.

The Golden Staff Divine Maiden of the Ami Sect and the Red Cloud Dragon of the Qingcheng Sect did not bristle at the youth in black robes’ words.

After restraining their companions, they watched Jeong Yeon-shin from behind their elders, their expressions serene and composed.

“Leader of Demon Wings?”

Taoist Cheong-eun, with the Red Cloud Dragon behind him, repeated Jeong Yeon-shin’s words. His eyes were full of confusion.

“Can you take responsibility for those words?”

Taoist Cheong-eun asked.

When Jeong Yeon-shin had displayed his movement art earlier, Cheong-eun had sensed a faint yet powerful aura. He could not help but be wary of the youth’s conduct.

“Must I?”

Jeong Yeon-shin tilted his head slightly.

Did he really need to drag out the conversation? They would not be traveling together anyway.

As if noticing his attitude, the middle-aged bhikkhuni who had been brutally striking down those rolling on the ground with her iron staff pressed her palms together and spoke.

“A connection from another life. They say that even brushing sleeves while walking is fate, yet it seems you have no particular business with us, Benefactor.”

“Our sleeves did not brush.”

Jeong Yeon-shin replied without thinking.

“Those are the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison from the Tang Family... What is this?”

“They have no life force! They have already passed away...”

A commotion arose behind them.

The younger martial artists of Sichuan, whom the Nine Sects’ people had brought along as though acting as their guardians, had recognized the Tang siblings Jeong Yeon-shin had laid down in the distance. Some had apparently trained eye techniques, because they spoke of the siblings’ lack of life force.

“That figures. Who are you to pretend to be a Desolate Fortress martial artist?”

“He really could be the Leader of Demon Wings. It is not as though the imperial sword cutting down martial artists is a rare sight.”

Footsteps rang out. Their movements were remarkably swift, as though they intended to use lightness skills to take the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison’s bodies.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought, That will not do.

It seemed an age of chaos had come upon the world. People who would be knocked over by a monkey using chopsticks could not possibly deliver the Tang siblings’ bodies safely to the Tang Family.

“Stop.”

He spoke without turning around.

The younger martial artists immediately replied.

“I do not know what right you have to speak and act in such a manner, but even if what you said is true, we cannot allow it.”

“You expect us to entrust the direct descendants of one of the Eight Great Families to a Desolate Fortress martial artist?”

“You should be questioned first. You may have been the one who killed them here.”

They rushed toward the Tang siblings with long strides.

Ziwei Divine Nun and Taoist Cheong-eun, who had properly sensed Jeong Yeon-shin’s martial prowess, remained where they were, watching him warily.

The Golden Staff Divine Maiden and the Red Cloud Dragon, praised as the finest of their generation, stood awkwardly between the younger martial artists and the two elders.

That was when it happened.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not speak again.

He simply took one step forward with an indifferent expression.

His movement was slow, like a stroll, as though he had expected this. Was it an illusion? Faint starlight seemed to glimmer at the tip of his foot.

An afterimage followed the light.

In an instant, Jeong Yeon-shin’s figure blurred and warped. At the same time, the shrubs that had leaned toward him bent in the opposite direction.

Fwaaaash!

The eyes of the four people from the Nine Sects widened.

The sound of air gently being pushed aside brushed past their ears. Before they could react, they realized Jeong Yeon-shin had already passed them.

An expert.

And no ordinary one.

The Red Cloud Dragon hurriedly turned around, but a dull impact rang out faster than his gaze could shift.

The younger martial artists reaching for the Tang siblings’ bodies had already lost their balance.

The sight of the three in front falling slowly entered his vision.

Then there was the youth in black robes passing through them, scattering a faint halo of light.

His movement broke apart in places like a constellation, while a pale white glow crumbled from Jeong Yeon-shin’s fingertips in a long, dreamlike trail.

When did he move?!

It was a divine technique.

He had danced through space in a single instant. It was a realm on another level.

The force waves from his hands brushed through the air, scattering light like clusters of stars. As though an incredible spectacle had appeared, every younger martial artist surrounding the siblings was flung away in all directions.

A heavy thud followed, then silence spread.

The Red Cloud Dragon had not even seen the form of the youth’s strike.

The simple-looking footwork and palm technique had failed to settle in his mind, strangely enough.

Soon, the reason became clear.

Damn, Wonsi Anjin...!

There were far too many profound principles woven into the technique.

Every movement of every muscle fiber, even fragments of inner energy that scattered through the air like sparks, moved with purpose. And all of it had happened in no more than an instant.

The Red Cloud Dragon glanced sideways.

The Golden Staff Divine Maiden stood with her lips slightly parted.

Her talent was no less than the Red Cloud Dragon’s. She must have felt the same dizzying distance in that moment.

Martial prowess like that at his age. The Peng Family Human Monkey? No, even that person would struggle to compare. There is no one but the Young Sect Master of the Ming Cult...

The Little Sword Empress of Jeomchang, the Golden Staff Divine Maiden of Ami, and the Red Cloud Dragon of Qingcheng.

The three had become friends when they were young and had each been called a genius who would lead the next wave of martial artists in their regions. Yet they had all encountered a wall.

The Little Sword Empress had done so when she met Seom-ye of Desolate Fortress.

The Golden Staff Divine Maiden and the Red Cloud Dragon had done so today.

As the gazes of the two younger martial artists from the Nine Sects turned solemn, Jeong Yeon-shin slowly turned around.

The force waves of Light Wheel qi that had lingered around both his hands vanished without a trace.

“It is the divine sword made for me by the Twin Dragons and Phoenixes of Poison.”

He slowly placed a hand on the silver sword hilt at his waist.

“Do not interfere. Repaying them comes first.”

The younger martial artists who had not fainted, along with the Nine Sects’ martial artists, all looked briefly at the hilt of the divine sword. Jeong Yeon-shin continued as though he did not care.

“Where are we?”

“This is Chodam Road in Deyang.”

Ziwei Divine Nun, who had been quietly watching him, suddenly answered.

The Golden Staff Divine Maiden’s martial aunt. Jeong Yeon-shin briefly swept his gaze over the iron staff in her hand. He shook his head inwardly, but felt relieved.

Deyang was not far from the Tang Family.

He knew there was a fairly large village below the road. They could buy coffins and a cart there to carry the bodies.

They could not keep carrying the siblings’ corpses. It was not proper respect for the honored dead.

“To the Tang Sect...?”

Taoist Cheong-eun asked.

Jeong Yeon-shin gave a rough nod, then carefully lifted the siblings and tucked one under each arm.

The younger martial artists sprawled around him stared blankly at the sight.

Step.

He turned his back and began to walk away. A pale sunset fell over the character for Desolation on his shoulder.

The Golden Staff Divine Maiden and the Red Cloud Dragon, watching Jeong Yeon-shin’s back from a distance, spoke.

“We will follow.”

“Should we not confirm it?”

The middle-aged elders sensed a mixture of resolve and heat in their voices.

The competitive spirit a martial artist felt toward a peer.

Ziwei Divine Nun and Taoist Cheong-eun silently nodded.

They were elders of their martial homes.

Even if their martial niece and nephew had developed an unreasonable competitive spirit, they could not reprimand them for it.

They had intended to visit the Tang Family at least once anyway.

Something serious had happened.

* * *

The high walls of the manor stretched endlessly in both directions.

Sunlight poured down over the fortress-like walls, as though they symbolized Sichuan’s rare wealth and power. Amid it all, thunderous explosions like bursting thunderclap bombs rang out without end.

The earth overturned and shot high into the air with heavy crashes.

The Tang Sect.

The home of Sichuan’s greatest martial nobility had long since become a battlefield because of the sect war.

“That area is empty!”

“Watch for poison caltrops! Do not focus only on your movement techniques. Bring your Protective Qi Technique to its limit...!”

“The flank has been breached! Stop them!”

Countless martial artists flew in every direction. Figures too numerous to count at a glance clashed and fell over and over.

Force waves collided forcefully here and there, unleashing heavy shockwaves. Beneath them, shards of shattered roof tiles rained down.

The Tang Sect had been built against a towering cliff.

So Il-su, a White Uniform martial artist of Desolate Fortress’s Sichuan Branch, clung to one side of the cliff like a spider, overlooking the entire manor. Cold sweat ran down his face.

He had mastered the Wall Gecko Skill, which would let him remain like this for a day and a half without difficulty. Yet the scale of the battlefield below made it feel as though his soul would flee his body.

Surging presences rose like blades.

The aftershocks of Force Projection pressed faintly against his skin.

He could even see supreme martial artists racing through the manor at such incredible speed that their bodies seemed to blur.

So Il-su swallowed hard. Sweat formed on the palms affixed to the cliff face with qi.

The Ten Perfect Sect, the Pure Demon Alliance, Yeoryeong, and even the subordinate sects that had submitted to them... This is insane. The Branch Head should have come personally...!

All kinds of skirmishes had been breaking out across the martial world lately, but an assault on one of the Eight Great Families on this scale was another matter.

This was not simply a clash among martial artists.

It concerned the Tang Sect.

Among the Eight Great Families, the Sichuan Tang Family was one of the rare groups that maintained a good relationship with Desolate Fortress because they helped keep peace in Sichuan’s martial world.

A major faction that possessed great power yet did not constantly exploit others, and cooperated reasonably with Desolate Fortress.

The Tang Sect was exceptionally rare among martial factions, especially in Sichuan.

To Desolate Fortress, which was always short of hands, it was like sweet dew.

It absolutely could not fall, yet it looked ready to suffer the calamity of extermination at any moment.

At least, that was how it seemed to So Il-su.

“Go in! You can go in now!”

“The men lying dead over there inhaled all the poison mist! There is no need to waste time circulating your qi!”

At the Tang Family’s main gate, people stepped over corpses sprawled with blue faces.

The Nine Poisons Formation, which turned the Tang Sect’s entrance into an underworld, had long exhausted itself after turning martial artists from sects under the Ten Perfect Sect into wandering ghosts.

The road leading to the front courtyard, as wide as a Training Hall, was no different.

The Silent Dragon Seeking Dread Formation, a mechanism formation made of bundles of poisoned long needles, had activated from beneath the ground and impaled dozens of people. Yet the Demonic Sect martial artists used the corpses beneath their feet like shields and moved through the Tang Sect as though it were their own home.

There was an even more striking sight.

[Despite years of friendship, is the Tang Family Head still bedridden?]

An elder with a white beard flowing like an immortal.

She wore dark green gloves gleaming with poison. Without even looking at the Tang Family martial artists surrounding her, she simply stood in place and flicked her fingers.

Each time she did, streams of black smoke streaked through the air.

They were Finger Winds.

The green mist called Ghost King Spirit, created by the Tang Sect’s poison formation, burned away and vanished. At times, Tang Family martial artists caught in those strikes burst apart with a wet pop.

It was a realm where overwhelming power could be wielded freely.

A sight beyond the mortal world.

The new Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

The master of the previous Pure Demon Alliance Leader, who had died after a fierce battle of a thousand exchanges against the Young Sect Master of the Ming Cult.

The new Pure Demon Alliance Leader had originally withdrawn from the front lines as the Elder Council Head due to the side effects of demonic arts. Yet rumors spread that, after hearing of her disciple’s defeat and death, she had reached the realm of Demon Shedding.

That old monster did not die after all. She alone is a disaster for the mortal world...

So Il-su cautiously shifted his gaze.

There was another target below who needed to be considered an extreme threat.

A man wearing thin white armor.

Like the new Pure Demon Alliance Leader, he was surrounded by Tang Family martial artists. At a glance, he did not even seem to have trained in martial arts.

His bearing was calm.

Even though he was a peerless master who had mastered more kinds of weapons than anyone else under heaven.

The Ten Perfect Sect Master...!

Sword in his left hand, saber in his right.

Every time he thrust the sword in his left hand into the air and swung the great saber in his right, the air churned violently.

The Force Projection created by his weapons was powerful enough to make space itself quake.

At last, it shattered the bodies of dozens of Tang Family martial artists who had covered themselves in blue lightning through the Heavenly Thunder Torrential Rain Formation.

Kwakakakakakwang!

The Taoists of Qingcheng and the monks of Ami staggered backward.

It was the moment a drastic change came over the front line that had held out for days with the support of the two sects of the Nine Sects.

The Tang Family will not be exterminated immediately.

So Il-su thought.

For some reason, the Demonic Sect forces in Sichuan had only kept tightening their grip around the Tang Family’s throat.

As though they were waiting for something.

Otherwise, the Tang Sect would have been exterminated long ago.

Still, I need to report this at once. How many supreme formations have already been broken...?

Tap.

Trying not to make a sound, he pressed his hand against the cliff face.

“What are you?”

“Gasp...!”

So Il-su’s breath stopped.

His body froze in the Wall Gecko Skill posture, still clinging to the cliff like a spider.

A chill spread across the back of his neck. He could barely move his eyes.

An elder stood in the empty air behind him.

Her snow-white beard had been neatly gathered beneath her solar plexus. Black sparks with a pure quality continuously flew over a navy long robe embroidered with splendid landscapes.

The sight strangely suited the elder’s smiling face.

“A fairly well-trained bearing, and such absurd spying... Are you a lackey of Desolate Fortress?”

The elderly Pure Demon Alliance Leader asked slowly.

A light like flames from the abyss blazed in her pitch-black eyes. It felt as though she did not bother concealing her energy.

So Il-su could not answer.

His body only trembled as though the cold sweat at the back of his neck had turned to ice. The presence pressing against his skin was overwhelming.

An opponent he could not possibly fight.

That was why she was a peerless master.

So Il-su inwardly cursed Jang Il-do, the Branch Head of Desolate Fortress’s Qizhou Branch, without stopping.

No matter how many earth-shaking incidents there have been lately, did you really have to send me here?

The elderly Pure Demon Alliance Leader smiled.

Her low voice sounded like Yama, the king of the underworld.