Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 379

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 379: The World (3)

──────

One who had survived into old age on the demonic path, a place called hell on earth.

If honor and life were placed on a scale, anyone would naturally choose life.

Still, it was a claim no one could easily accept at face value.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader had spoken in a booming voice laden with terrifying inner power, yet her latest words carried none of the resonance of Six Directions Voice Transmission.

They were very far apart.

To make out her voice, one had to heighten their hearing through Sensory Training or read her lips.

As the crowds along the mountainside murmured, masters from the Nine Sects began to doubt their eyes and ears.

Most were Daoists from Qingcheng rather than disciples of the Ami Sect.

“What did that supernatural monster of the demonic path say?”

“Unless my eye technique is lacking, she clearly said she had lost…”

“Did they exchange blows while we weren't looking?”

“They say the current Pure Demon Alliance Leader has realized the realm of Demon Shedding. Would she really be frightened by qi that appeared to oppose her own?”

The gentle voice of Jeomchang's Little Sword Empress joined the discussion.

“It was dharma-power qi. And the Ten Perfect Sect Master's weapon techniques... Leader of Demon Wings created the ideal conditions. I don't know how that was possible, though.”

It confirmed what many had already suspected. The Amitabha invocations of the Ami monks sounded softly once more, and the Qingcheng masters stirred.

“Dharma power...? We heard rumors that Leader of Demon Wings wielded divine power...”

“We should have seen it up close. Does Leader of Demon Wings truly use energy comparable to the Three Pure Ones Power?”

Their voices carried a faint excitement.

The Daoist Three Pure Ones Power was famed as one of the most auspicious forces in the world.

Even among all the Daoist-affiliated Nine Sects, it was said that only the sect leader of Wudang Sect had attained it.

“Quiet.”

The Qingcheng Sect leader spoke from the edge of the cave entrance.

From behind, long pointed ears stood upright. The aura from the sudden burst of lightness skill sent the hem of the white Daoist robe flying upward.

“What do you think, Venerable?”

The Qingcheng Sect leader asked quietly while staring at Jeong Yeon-shin, who stood enveloped in the radiance of the eighteen martial weapons.

The Qingcheng Sect leader's gaze remained fixed and unmoving.

Venerable Baekyak, who had risen from her cross-legged position, spoke.

“That elderly benefactor has lived longer than anyone else on the demonic path. Anything is possible, whether she truly seeks only her own safety or harbors some other scheme.”

“Should we consider Leader of Demon Wings to have fully mastered the eighteen martial weapons?”

“Didn't you already witness it?”

A quiet silence followed Baekyak's question. The Qingcheng Sect leader's expression was strange.

The sect leader seemed lost in deep thought while carefully observing Jeong Yeon-shin.

“...That is the talent to challenge the natural order. Very dangerous. One who dismantles martial arts as naturally as breathing. How many sects will tolerate such a being...?”

The Qingcheng Sect leader trailed off. Venerable Baekyak shook her head as she watched the Pure Demon Alliance Leader face Jeong Yeon-shin.

“Ami and Shaolin will have no choice but to welcome him.”

“The more Leader of Demon Wings stands out, the greater the upheaval that will sweep through the orthodox world. He will make more enemies than even the current Divine Sword Squad Leader.”

“It is certainly a concern, but not one for now. Look at that elderly benefactor of the demonic path. The signs are not good.”

The moment Venerable Baekyak finished speaking, an Ami Sect bhikkhuni in monastic robes shot up from below the cliff.

“Sect Leader! The Thirteen Heavens have run rampant!”

“Report calmly.”

“It appears all nearby sects have suffered extermination while their grounds stood empty. Martial families, factions between orthodox and unorthodox, even martial schools... Our sect's sources have all gone silent.”

“Amitabha.”

“Junior Sister Geumseon's weasel has not returned. Her letter said hunters with inner energy, led by a short woman, were bringing natural disasters wherever they went... It seemed the Golden-Wing Sect Master was heading this way.”

At that moment, similar words came from Jeong Yeon-shin, who faced the Pure Demon Alliance Leader on the hill where the Nine Sects' masters had focused their attention.

“Do you truly intend not to make a move?”

“Child of Desolate Fortress. Your attempt to provoke me is certainly extraordinary. Yet it does not compare to the years I have lived.”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader chuckled.

The demonic qi that had darkened the entire sky had vanished without a trace.

It had long since disappeared into the old woman's black robes.

The surroundings were bright.

White lightning flickered between the weapons surrounding the two. Jeong Yeon-shin stared steadily at the Pure Demon Alliance Leader and spoke.

“It's remarkable that someone your age feels no shame. You claim to have reached Demon Shedding, yet has demonic qi invaded your Baihui acupoint?”

“...”

“I said this was not a martial contest, but a punishment. Did you think you could escape by tucking your tail like an old dog?”

As Jeong Yeon-shin asked what he wished to know, he also examined the state of his own body.

The life-and-death duel with the Ten Perfect Sect Master.

External injuries posed little problem. Pain had become familiar.

The force waves of the Myriad Essences Unified Origin Art gathered throughout his body were the issue. It felt as though long needles were piercing sharply through his veins.

The Force Projection left by a peerless master who had fought countless battles was as hard as diamond, obstructing the flow of his inner energy.

In this state, it would be difficult to display his full strength.

It was the price of defeating one who stood at the pinnacle of the Demonic Sect. He needed time, even if only briefly, for energy-circulating meditation.

‘If I properly circulate the Jeong Family Youth Technique, I'll recover quickly...’

Whoosh.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt a gaze stretching out from the abyss. Black eyes swept over his body. It was the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's gaze.

Defeating the old woman here would not be difficult. Even if he fought her immediately, he had at least a ninety percent chance of victory.

The problem was facing the Golden-Wing Sect Master immediately after cutting off the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's head.

‘Mother.’

Jeong Yeon-shin activated the Jeong Family Youth Technique while standing.

Rustle.

The instant its core formula surfaced in his mind, his body began to recover smoothly.

It was a soft, cloudlike sensation. Qi slowly stitched together torn meridians and restored elasticity to his acupoints.

The speed was far lower than when cultivating alone. A peerless master stood before him.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader, who had been watching closely for an opening, smiled.

“Punishment? I have not even sat in the Alliance Leader's seat for about a month. I have never personally interfered with Desolate Fortress. I only found it amusing to watch my underlings scuffle. More importantly...”

The old woman slowly continued, the corners of her wrinkled lips lifting.

“I am curious about your studies. Have you truly taken in all the weapon techniques of that myriad-weapons brat?”

Great interest filled her aged voice. It sounded like a very important question.

“Do you know the Golden-Wing Sect Master's whereabouts?”

Jeong Yeon-shin asked instead, as if the old woman's question held no value at all.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's eyebrow twitched.

The old woman had encountered unprecedented behavior in her long life.

It would have been fitting to turn the brat's head into mush at once with the palm techniques of the Dark Heaven Demon God Force, but the radiance of the eighteen martial weapons surrounding them was so divine that it was nearly without precedent.

“...The Golden-Wing Sect Master's movements through the martial world have always been consistent.”

“Don't speak in circles. Explain properly.”

“She is likely exterminating the sects that obstruct her search for dharma treasures. Spiritually potent weapons are needed to open a spiritual beast's hiding place.”

“That old woman knows no shame either. She must have seen the words I wrote.”

“Do not worry. From the moment you ruined the Flood Dragon Formation, she was destined to seek you out.”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader answered in an archaic tone.

It was a conversation between peerless masters.

Whether they could hear it or not, the surrounding crowd held its breath. Jeong Yeon-shin paid no attention to their stares as he spoke.

“Tell me where you have placed your rabble as well. The Ten Perfect Sect, the Pure Demon Alliance, the Golden-Wing Sect, and all the rest.”

“...You truly speak too harshly for someone of the Tyrant Hero's bloodline.”

“I told you to come show your martial arts, yet you joined in some worthless scheme.”

Faint disappointment appeared on Jeong Yeon-shin's face. It stood out all the more because his expression had remained blank until then.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader furrowed her brow.

The expressions of the masters lined up along the nearby mountainside also changed.

Martial artists were people who paid attention to every action of a genius of the world.

If that genius was a young man who had just slain the Ten Perfect Sect Master alone, then people could not help but unconsciously seek his favor, regardless of sect.

Even a trivial shift in mood drew a reaction. Like some of the women at that moment, gazing at Leader of Demon Wings as though bewitched.

A young peerless master gained the goodwill of others through martial prowess alone.

Today was the beginning.

“Child of Desolate Fortress, it is because you do not understand the martial world of the Demonic Sect.”

“Do not use the term Demonic Sect anymore. You are nothing but honorless thugs.”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader closed her mouth.

The air and sunlight rippled. Time resumed its flow.

* * *

Some among the crowd looking up at Unhoe Peak rubbed their eyes. Others could not hide their shock.

The sight unfolding on the hill went beyond imagination.

An elderly bhikkhuni and an elegant elven Daoist stood guard.

They stood motionless on either side of Leader of Demon Wings, who sat cross-legged.

Buddha Venerable, Thunderbolt Avalokiteshvara Baekyak. The longtime sect leader of the Ami Sect.

Perfected Cheong-su, the Two-Walls Sword Lord. The Daoist who had newly taken the Qingcheng leadership.

“...”

The air was heavy.

Whoooosh.

The wind that had swept up the cliff and toward the hill reversed on its own.

Only dust spread faintly before fading away. It could not even touch Leader of Demon Wings's face, dazzling beneath the sunlight.

It was an unprecedented sight.

“Are those truly Thunderbolt Avalokiteshvara and the Two-Walls Sword Lord...?”

“Report to the family. From this moment, all information on Leader of Demon Wings is to be classified at the Purple Uniform level of Desolate Fortress. This speaks not only of martial prowess, but of standing.”

“I have truly lived long enough. To see the leaders of the Nine Sects standing guard over a single person...”

The sect leaders of the Nine Sects.

Orange monastic robes and white Daoist robes swayed gently.

Monstrous concentrations of aura had gathered in one place.

Had the proclamation announcing the martial contest omitted the names of the Qingcheng and Ami sect leaders, the Pure Demon Alliance Leader would have fled long ago. The old woman believed so herself.

Invite someone as a guest, then dispose of them with a combined attack? No one in the orthodox martial world could do such a thing unless prepared to close their sect's gates.

That was why the old woman spoke brazenly, frowning.

“For people called leaders of the Nine Sects, you have no sense of dignity.”

One of the Lords of the Thirteen Heavens had been slain.

Anyone could guess that Leader of Demon Wings was not in perfect condition.

What was astonishing was that Jeong Yeon-shin still appeared capable of dealing with the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

Yet he was recovering through qi circulation and breath regulation right here.

Interference was impossible. Very few people in the world could break through the protection of two Nine Sects leaders.

“...”

Neither responded. They only stared at the Pure Demon Alliance Leader with heavy, forceful gazes.

‘If that one reaches peak condition here...?’

The old woman considered whether it was time to bring out the demonic weasel.

Swish.

A strange presence stirred in the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's wrinkled hand.

Nothing could be seen, as though she grasped empty air, but within it, the air stirred soundlessly.

A spiritual beast. A kind of demon creature.

An invisible weasel.

Just as elven monks of Shaolin and Ami raised brown squirrels as informants or tracking tools, the supreme figure of the demonic path possessed a demon creature formed of spirituality and demonic qi.

It was normally used to relay orders to subordinates while the owner underwent closed-door cultivation.

Those who practiced orthodox martial arts could not sense its presence. It was a sacred creature of the Pure Demon Alliance, which had split from the Ming Cult.

The same held true even against peerless masters, but the demonic weasel's power was extremely weak, so it could not pose much threat.

It was also restricted from moving too far from its owner.

Now was different.

Leader of Demon Wings was directly before her, immersed in qi circulation and breath regulation.

This was worth trying. Even the slightest wound to an acupoint would be enough.

She could not simply stand by. The Pure Demon Alliance Leader slowly sent intent into her hand.

Go.

Screee.

The sound rang with spirituality. The invisible weasel glided through the air.

It took only an instant to slip between the two sect leaders and reach the shadow of Leader of Demon Wings, who leaned slightly forward.

‘Brat. You do not understand the Demonic Sect.’

Swish.