WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 402: Realm Beyond Compare (2)

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Jeong Yeon-shin glanced down at the arrow bent in his hand.

Its black metal shaft looked as though it had been dipped in ink. It was a fairly heavy iron arrow.

Perhaps because it had crossed such an immense distance, it glowed faintly red. Blocked by the radiance of his Protective Qi Technique, it could not properly transmit its heat. It merely sent up thick white vapor.

The aftermath was immense.

Saaaa...

Even the transparent air boiling around them bore the effects of Ten Miles One Kill.

Originally, it was a secret art in which numerous master archers concentrated their inner power for more than ten days through a formation called the Thunderflower Bow Formation, then struck a target ten miles away with a single arrow.

The force wave would not weaken simply because the Dark Night Hall Master had unleashed it alone in an instant from about twice that distance. In fact, it was slightly more powerful.

Thud.

Jeong Yeon-shin discarded the arrow onto the ground.

The starlight around his left hand faded.

His Protective Qi Technique had the toughness of the Tang siblings' calluses. It would not break easily.

Jeong Yeon-shin quietly recited inwardly.

Return.

At once, a sound like sand scraping together rang out.

The radiance that had enveloped his entire body scattered like glowing foam, then formed a Light Wheel in his heart once more.

Yong Hui-myeong laughed.

"That's a fine Protective Qi Technique."

"Haah..."

Perhaps Yeon So-ha had unconsciously meant to block it with his own body. He had awkwardly approached them and was now rubbing his chest.

When his eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin's, he gave an embarrassed smile. It was almost comical.

"It makes more sense for Squad Leader Jeong to survive than me."

It was a ridiculous concern, but Yeon So-ha added briefly, casting frightened glances at the arrow in Jeong Yeon-shin's hand.

The Divine Sword Corps of Desolate Fortress.

They were bound by ties somewhere between fellow disciples and comrades-in-arms.

They stood between the government and the martial world, unlike any other faction. Even without knowing one another, they felt a certain kinship. Away from the main fortress, they were strangers wherever they went.

"Move back."

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.

"Yes!"

Yeon So-ha respectfully leaped back. A snort came from nearby, as though someone found it absurd. It was Yong Hui-myeong, the Divine Sword Squad Leader.

"So-ha, you brat, try being that respectful to me."

"I owe him my life from earlier. And unlike you, Squad Leader Jeong seems to have plenty of substance."

"What?"

"Didn't you say that if you want to climb high, you have to choose the right patron?"

Though they all spoke in their own way, the mood was not light.

Everyone was busy measuring the distance between them. The unseen Dark Night Hall Master and Namgung Mu-jin, who now held his pure white sword low with half-open eyes, were surely doing the same.

Bow and sword.

As far as the harmony of a combined attack went, it was supreme. Since all of them were peerless masters, no strike would miss its mark.

"Now that we've exchanged a move, they'll be coming closer," the Divine Sword Squad Leader said.

"I'm talking about the archer from Dark Night Hall. To put an arrow into a martial artist of your level, even a master would realize they can't stay too far away. That one has sharp instincts."

"Yes."

Jeong Yeon-shin answered briefly as he considered the Squad Leader's meaning.

The famed Divine Sword Squad Leader had said the Dark Night Hall Master possessed exceptional instincts.

It meant that, even among peerless masters, the Dark Night Hall Master ranked at the top in eye techniques. That monster could land Ten Miles One Kill from twenty miles away, so it made sense.

'Hm.'

Just then, the opponent's presence disappeared. Had they refined Concealment Art, something close to a divine art? Until they came closer, Jeong Yeon-shin likely would not sense anything.

Swish.

Namgung Mu-jin, who had been idly waving his sword tip as though teasing them, curled the corners of his mouth.

A translucent curtain rippled around him. It resembled condensed lightning.

"Divine Sword Squad Leader Yong isn't entirely wrong. At too great a distance, an arrow's force wave only dissipates. But that isn't all."

He spoke slowly.

"The Dark Night Hall Master once suffered badly at Divine Sword Squad Leader Yong's hands. It was before Divine Sword Squad Leader Yong donned that Purple Uniform martial robe. How could a peerless archer who nearly lost an arm dare approach too closely?"

Mockery sat on his lips. Though they moved together, they did not appear to share a deep friendship.

"A Divine Sword Squad Leader at full strength was a supernatural phenomenon in their own right. Even Sichuan's Golden-Winged Bird was too busy avoiding the Tyrant Hero and Divine Sword Squad Leader Yong. Of course, even then, she was a rare supreme expert who ruled for many years as Sichuan's Greatest Martial Artist..."

Namgung Mu-jin's manner of speaking was strange. It suited the direct descendant of Southern Zhili's foremost martial-nobility family, one also called a warlord clan.

His voice flowed out like a low melody, ridiculing his opponent with elegance.

"I've heard much of your terrifying achievements. I hear you slew the Golden-Wing Sect Master. Naturally, you understand the wonders her inner power produces."

"...."

Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.

He was newly grateful for the logic of the martial world's upper echelon. Peerless masters rarely encountered anyone of equal standing, so when they met someone capable of understanding them, they tended to talk at length.

And they always examined their opponent with their eye techniques.

"Likewise, that man beside you is a transcendent who surpassed his bloodline through martial arts alone. Though born with the energy of a flood dragon, he was never pushed back by the Golden-Wing Sect Master. And the Dark Night Hall Master, unable to forget those old memories, cannot even use their full strength and only keeps firing Ten Miles One Kill from afar."

Namgung Mu-jin's words did not truly reach him.

He looked like a junior whose humility had become second nature, silently listening to an elder's words. Yet Jeong Yeon-shin only studied the body of the man once called the finest swordsman among the Eight Great Families.

Just as Namgung Mu-jin was ruthlessly examining his body even while talking.

"But now, the Divine Sword Squad Leader has fallen so far that he cannot refuse a junior's help. Can you replace him?"

Someone who sought Martial Extreme through survival by any means while still preserving appearances. The rumors appeared true. The Sword Howling Emperor was a martial artist of the faction between orthodox and unorthodox.

'He uses a Heavy Sword.'

Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

The shoulders of the opponent's blue martial uniform spread wide. The right arm holding the sword was unusually thick, yet it still felt agile despite the muscle.

That was because the aura flowing from the Xiabai acupoint in his upper arm to the Neiguan acupoint above his wrist was as light as wind. He seemed to have mastered a sword art that was both heavy and unerringly precise.

A strike from a peerless swordsman who cultivated the Heavy Sword would not miss.

It was a frightening fact.

"Anyway, thank you for giving us confidence. No matter how much we swung our swords, their edges would not bite. I was beginning to wonder whether we were forcing something that could never be done."

Namgung Mu-jin spoke with both mockery and sincerity.

"Now the Dark Night Hall Master will gladly come this way and fire the Phoenix-Chasing Radiance Bow Art. I'm curious how much of our combined attack your lofty Protective Qi Technique can withstand."

"Shameless. Earthworm Society will do."

Jeong Yeon-shin unwittingly mentioned an earthworm. He was referring to the Martial Dragon Society.

Namgung Mu-jin laughed heartily and tightened his grip on the sword.

"Call it whatever you like. Today, the martial world will be freed from the Divine Sword of the Divine Sword Squad Leader."

Kugugung...

His vision trembled in tiny vertical waves. The ground shook from the opening stance alone. It was the precursor to the Imperial Sword Art.

"Your force wave is rough. Clear Qilin's was more fluid."

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke as he circulated the Light Wheel qi he had gathered back into his heart. The energy filled every minor meridian in his body with a soft texture. This was how peerless masters who had fought countless battles formed their opening stances.

Before entering a fierce battle where both sides would struggle to take even a breath, they prepared their opening moves.

Unless it was a Transcendent Martial Art.

Namgung First Sword was nothing special.

He was not an opponent against whom Jeong Yeon-shin needed to wield full dharma power just to see a chance of victory. Jeong Yeon-shin felt he could test himself against the man with his own abilities alone.

Lingering Thunder, now cool in his hand, seemed to whisper that the man's level could not compare to Clear Qilin's.

"So-ha, move farther back!" Yong Hui-myeong said.

He could not openly circulate his qi. There was the risk of qi deviation. He was in a situation where two peerless masters could strike at him at any moment.

He needed to secretly recover through the spark Jeong Yeon-shin had planted in his pupils.

"Squad Leader, please don't interfere."

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly. He meant for Yong Hui-myeong to focus on regulating his qi.

Perhaps Namgung Mu-jin took it as youthful competitiveness. Smiling with his eyes, he took a heavy step forward.

The next moment, he was swinging his sword before Jeong Yeon-shin's face.

The pure white trajectory crushed the air. A straight force wave from the sword strike shot toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

Jeong Yeon-shin narrowed his eyes.

Clangggg!

The instant Lingering Thunder met it, fragments of projected force scattered like sparks. At the point of impact, a flower of lightning bloomed and vanished.

An enormous force traveled to his grip, despite his best effort to redirect it.

It was sword force as though Namgung Mu-jin had circulated dozens of major circulations of the Imperial Sword Art while talking. Rather than releasing the momentum of his inner energy in all directions, he had concentrated it into a single sword.

"Can you endure it?"

Namgung Mu-jin asked quietly.

His face was close. White vapor flowed from his mouth.

It was not moisture but dense inner energy. He had raised his full inner power to its peak. It did not match his leisurely manner.

When Jeong Yeon-shin looked at him with clear eyes, the ends of the man's mustache lifted.

Heavy Sword.

It referred to an unwavering and solid sword stance.

If Jeong Yeon-shin loosened his grip here, he would not simply be flung away. His body would be split in two.

Jeong Yeon-shin recalled three names: Quchi acupoint, Chize acupoint, and Shaohai acupoint.

They were acupoints in the arm joints.

Then it happened.

A heavy sensation settled over both his legs. Colorless clouds suddenly rose from beneath the ground and wrapped around his feet.

The Imperial Sword Art at its peak. The peerless realm of giving qi tangible form.

Namgung Mu-jin's eyes gleamed white. His inner power had filled even his upper dantian. Though he did not open his mouth, an unspoken voice flowed out with extraordinary speed.

[I've heard you pursue swift, decisive battles. We also prefer brief exchanges.]

He differed from ordinary masters. Was it because he had cultivated the Imperial Sword Art deeply? His intent vibrated through the surroundings like Six Directions Voice Transmission.

He had spent the time drawing things out to closely gauge Jeong Yeon-shin's body, balance, aura, and posture.

Countering.

It was not the exclusive domain of Seom-ye of Desolate Fortress. It was a skill granted to all martial artists under heaven.

The ability of geniuses who could predict the next movement from the smallest gesture and aura, then move one step ahead after meticulous thought.

A roar split the air above them.

It came from above Namgung Mu-jin's head. A faint vortex rapidly took the shape of a blade.

Formless Sword.

Heavy wind streamed from it in waves. The aftermath alone felt as though it could press Jeong Yeon-shin's skin inward.

Another arrow rushed in from behind him. A sensation sharp as a beam of light pierced Jeong Yeon-shin's aura sense in a straight line. Namgung Mu-jin had called it the Phoenix-Chasing Radiance Bow Art.

Even as Jeong Yeon-shin divided the moment into slow fragments, the Dark Night Hall Master's arrow was unbelievably fast. It seemed they had poured all the power needed to wield Ten Miles One Kill into the bow art.

It was a combined attack by peerless masters.

He was surrounded on all sides. This was why Namgung Mu-jin had taken so long to counter a junior he had only just met. He had foreseen every possible approach.

A faint milky current bound Jeong Yeon-shin's limbs like shackles. It was an extremely practical use of qi.

[Goodbye.]

Just as Namgung Mu-jin murmured that.

[Why did you condense it like this?]

Something invisible surged forth and swallowed his intent whole. It was the spirituality in the upper dantian.

It was like a loud voice drowning out a soft one, incomparably denser than Namgung Mu-jin's.

[This isn't the orthodox Imperial Sword Art.]

[...?!]

Jeong Yeon-shin did not seek an answer. Namgung Mu-jin suddenly saw the Divine Sword Squad Leader in the distance, standing with his arms folded. That man had remained like this even now...?

At the same time.

Dust rose behind Jeong Yeon-shin.

The ground had already been overturned by fierce battle. It was filled with fine grains of sand, and in an instant, they swelled in size while carrying the mnemonic formula of Myriad Flowers Rain.

There was no comparison in speed. It was a technique steeped in more than a hundred years of refinement.

Kwaaaaa...

The vortex, huge as a dragon's body, cast a dark shadow over the ground. At that moment, the Formless Sword's rapidly spinning vortex had not yet fully formed.

[This makes it easier to pierce.]

Jeong Yeon-shin's intent boomed.

Namgung Mu-jin's face reflected in his pitch-black eyes. A depth pooled there like a well.

[You shouldn't have done that.]

Jeong Yeon-shin murmured quietly.

The next moment.

The yellow-brown vortex that rose behind him plunged into the Formless Sword's vortex, tore every stream of wind to pieces, and passed through.

Footnotes:

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