WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 54: Huangbo Clan (2)
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Jeong Yeon-shin looked down at Huangbo Myeong-rin’s corpse, then raised his head.
“This one is not even resisting.”
Cheong Myeong spoke, shrugged, and kicked the back of Languid Flame Dragon’s knee.
Languid Flame Dragon fell to his knees with a thud, then grinned up at Yeon-shin.
“So things have come to this. If you came knowing everything, then it is extermination for my family. A Blue Uniform? I never imagined your true identity.”
From their first meeting, when he had chewed poppies while dead drunk, he had clearly not been in his right mind.
His half-sister’s head had been sent flying, yet he did not seem particularly bothered.
Yeon-shin could not tell whether it was because he had suffered such contempt after becoming the Young Family Head as an illegitimate son, or because he was simply mad.
The Sun God Meridian.
Was the pain of having one’s acupoints scorched beyond imagination? Yeon-shin had sensed it even at their first meeting, but Languid Flame Dragon truly was a madman.
Even as the Young Family Head of the Huangbo Family, he seemed to have lived by inertia alone.
“What was that sword art? I had never heard of such a sword strike. What cultivation method did you learn? Tell me.”
“Your sister has just died under my sword.”
“I do not care about dull fools like that. They lived in another world. They probably never considered me their brother either. Neither did I. With the family about to fall, there is no need to watch the elders’ moods. Gu Gwa, no, Seom-ye! I want to know every martial art you possess!”
Languid Flame Dragon smiled with shadowed eyes.
Yeon-shin was certain now. The man was completely mad over martial arts and pain.
Ignoring his words, Yeon-shin ran a hand over the sword hilts of the Desolate Sword and Northern Light Sword in turn.
The Huangbo Family Guard Corps had only been a preliminary battle. The expedition was only beginning. Their mission was to strike one of the Eight Great Families.
‘They said exterminating a family would not be accomplished in a short, decisive battle.’
The Huangbo Family was a massive local clan. They did not have only one main house in Jinan, Shandong Province.
They had branch families and local branches, allowing them to hold Jinan like royalty and secretly exploit its people.
They could not be assessed by the Guard Corps alone. They had an elder council and their finest experts.
Yeon-shin had heard that all Eight Great Families and Nine Sects were alike. They were powerful groups with diverse martial arts, enough to please him.
‘Sword forms that can deflect thunderclap bombs, a cultivation method with rapid qi storage, a Sword Song that will prove useful against many opponents...’
The Sword Song had already established itself as a martial art. All that remained was adapting it to real combat.
Amid the carnage, Yeon-shin slightly closed his eyes.
He hoped that, in a single mission, he could complete both a sword form for dealing with thunderclap bombs and a new cultivation method.
* * *
“You have worked hard.”
“Thanks to you, we can settle an old mission.”
The senior martial artists tousled the hair of Yeon-shin, Hyeon Won-chang, and Shin So-bin.
While Shin So-bin recoiled in disgust, Yeon-shin asked Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo what had happened in the meantime.
Baek Mir-yeo had already grasped both his shoulders and inspected the wounds on his body.
“As for us, we only heard what happened at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering and were shocked out of our wits. Who would have thought they would use thunderclap bombs like that? We ran here with lightness arts until our feet practically sweated.”
“Once you reach Blue Uniform, you should be able to deal with fire bombs as well. I will teach you how to wield Demon's Light.”
Cheong Myeong and Baek Mir-yeo spoke.
Desolate Fortress might not have formal master-disciple ties, but human relationships were different.
Yeon-shin regarded Demon Wings as a true martial school. Cheong Myeong’s beaming face alone made that clear.
The same went for Baek Mir-yeo, who demonstrated a palm technique that traced soft circles through the air before looking at him.
“This is a method of Harmonizing Force. It differs even in its characters from Force Projection, which releases qi with force. You have heard the saying that softness overcomes hardness, have you not? Softness subdues strength. If you wrap an inner-energy barrier around your sword, fist, or palm, you can send even fire bombs back. I will show you again and again, so ask until you master it.”
“I had thought of that.”
“Hm?”
“There are a few application forms I am curious about, but I believe I understand those as well. I would like you to take a look.”
“...”
The surroundings remained noisy throughout this.
The dantians of Huangbo Family Guard Corps members who had survived and surrendered were being destroyed.
The lower dantian was an organ that affected the acupoints and fine meridians throughout the body. It could not end with merely scattering their inner energy.
“Cough!”
“Urgh!”
Many rolled across the ground, but no one paid them any attention.
They were people who had raised white flags instead of fighting to the death alongside their comrades. No one could look kindly upon them.
Cheong Myeong, Baek Mir-yeo, and several others had been exempted from the miscellaneous work because they had served as scouts.
The same went for Yeon-shin, Hyeon Won-chang, and Shin So-bin. Their journey through the martial world, from the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering until now, had been recognized as merit.
“Not just anyone can cripple a dantian. It must be done by a Blue Uniform with deep inner energy. It is a rather tedious chore. Once they are captured, they are prisoners, so we cannot kill them. During battle, it is up to our discretion, but afterward, we hand them over to the local authorities so they may receive the imperial court’s judgment.”
Cheong Myeong spoke, and Yeon-shin and Hyeon Won-chang slowly nodded.
Desolate Fortress was a sect with a clear hierarchy.
The White Uniforms who had arrived later handled the surviving enemies.
Gathering corpses, searching their identity tags, confirming their identities, and burying them temporarily were not easy tasks either.
The younger talents from the other families gathered together in silence.
Their eyes were dull as they glanced at Demon Wings, including Yeon-shin.
They wore the same expressions as Tyrant Sword Huangbo Jun, who had ultimately died at the hands of the Leader of Demon Wings. Their complexions were poor.
“I am envious anew. It feels like only yesterday that we took the Desolate Exam together, yet now Young Hero Jeong is my superior.”
Hyeon Won-chang shook his head as he looked at the corpses. Had he not completed earlier missions, he might have been the one handling them.
Yeon-shin watched him for a moment before speaking.
“May I say something as a Blue Uniform?”
“Hm?”
“You do not need to tear this off for me. I kept quiet because I thought you might be embarrassed, but it is a little embarrassing for me too. I would rather do it myself.”
Yeon-shin tapped the spot below his shoulder, where the character for “Desolate” was marked.
At once, Hyeon Won-chang’s face visibly fell.
“It is one of the few joys in my life... Must you take even that from me?”
“What are you talking about...?”
They had been given time for idle banter. It was a rare, pleasant moment.
Around noon, when the dry plains entering spring grew warm beneath the sunlight, the matter of dealing with Languid Flame Dragon and the Second Young Master came up.
“I believe we should kill them.”
Cheong Myeong spoke with a gentle smile. Perhaps it was because he belonged to the elven race, known for its lofty nature throughout the Central Plains.
Even before three squad leaders, he showed no hesitation. Yeon-shin thought it suited him.
“Would they not become future trouble? Languid Flame Dragon, the bearer of the Sun God Meridian, has witnessed the martial arts of all three Desolate Fortress divisions. If we carelessly take him prisoner and he escapes, it will become troublesome. He may even devise a counterform.”
“There is reason in that, but...”
The grave-looking swordsman nodded. It was the Azure Sky Squad Leader.
With great height and long arms, the Azure Sky Squad Leader was said to have been born destined to become a sword master.
Then it happened.
“Demon Wings!”
Languid Flame Dragon raised his head and shouted.
His gleaming eyes stared only at Yeon-shin.
“I want to join Demon Wings! I will serve you like a dog! I will crawl around like one, so please, just let me stay beside Seom-ye!”
“What kind of mad talk is that?”
Hyeon Won-chang muttered in disbelief.
There was no chance they would accept him. Whether he was an illegitimate child or anything else, he was still blood of the family they were about to exterminate.
The Ming Imperial Family had never left future threats behind. Desolate Fortress was the same.
They were a sect that transcended orthodox sects and unorthodox sects. Their sole concern was the people’s livelihood.
“You are a prisoner.”
At that instant, powerful invisible energy burst from the Annihilation Squad Leader’s index finger.
Languid Flame Dragon’s upper body jolted as if struck by a typhoon. It was Finger Wind, an art that locally released palm force through a finger with qi.
“Seven-Step Death Acupoint Strike... That is the Annihilation Squad Leader’s unique martial art.”
Hyeon Won-chang whispered beside him. Yeon-shin was always amazed by his knowledge of the martial world.
He had no idea how Hyeon Won-chang recognized martial arts he had never even seen.
The Annihilation Squad Leader spoke.
“Sun God Meridian. I know that your qi is like that of someone who has cultivated the Scorching Yang Divine Art. My innate qi bears Wood qi like that of the elven race. You have heard of the principle that Wood generates Fire. Your inner energy is not cultivated as deeply as the qi I have just planted in you.”
“In other words, if I raise my energy, I will only strengthen your qi, so I should not try to release the acupoint seal carelessly. I have heard of the Annihilation Squad Leader’s Seven-Step Death Acupoint Strike. If I act rashly, the fine meridians throughout my body will twist before I can take seven steps, and I will die. In my case, I will burn to death.”
Languid Flame Dragon replied with a grin. Wood generates Fire was the Five Elements principle that wood energy nourished and strengthened fire energy.
If he could control the energy of the Sun God Meridian, it would have become nourishment instead.
That was not the case. He was born with a constitution fated to die young because he could not control the blazing yang power. If Wood qi strengthened that uncontrollable force even further, it could only prove fatal.
“So you understand. Shut up now. Your opinion is useless.”
“Ha ha. What a joke.”
Languid Flame Dragon lowered his head for a moment. When he raised it again, the bloodshot veins filling the whites of his eyes made them look inhuman.
“You turtle bastard! Burn to death? I will burn to death? I am sick to death of anything hot! Of all the damned things, now this absurd person... You call that a Sun God Meridian? It is a junk meridian, you skeleton bastard!”
At the same time, Yeon-shin moved like a phantom and kicked the back of his head.
For an instant, the thick sensation of hair brushing against the top of his foot felt unpleasant. He drove Languid Flame Dragon down with Leg Arts carrying qi.
Thud!
Yeon-shin looked down at the man, who had smashed his forehead into the ground and fainted. He thought it was better than dying instantly to the Annihilation Squad Leader’s strike.
“Why are you not crippling this man’s dantian?”
He looked around at the three squad leaders and asked. It was not something he wanted. He was simply curious.
Ma Jin, drenched from head to toe in blood, placed a hand on Yeon-shin’s shoulder.
“The treatment of that Languid Flame Dragon fellow has already been decided. The Lord of Desolate Fortress ordered that, if he survived, he was to be brought back alive. Preserving his inner energy intact was important. The Sun God Meridian is said to be one of the few of its kind in the world. Perhaps she has something to study from a martial perspective.”
At that moment, Yeon-shin felt a strange intuition. Was it foresight from his upper dantian?
He had an instinctive feeling that the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s order was connected to him.
‘Then it must be a good thing.’
The thought came to him unconsciously.
The Lord of Desolate Fortress could be strict when it came to World Tree fruit, but she clearly treated Yeon-shin with goodwill.
There was no reason for an unparalleled master closest to becoming the greatest under heaven to treat Yeon-shin with false kindness.
Slash!
While he was lost in thought, the Second Young Master’s head fell.
The Azure Sky Squad Leader had cut down the man, who had been kneeling in terror.
“We cannot leave more than one direct descendant alive.”
The Annihilation Squad Leader spoke.
The Second Young Master was the man who had provoked Yeon-shin when they first met near Huizhou.
It was strange to see the head of that refined, arrogant young master lying on the ground with its eyes wide open.
Did the lives of countless martial artists generally end up fading so vainly?
The martial world was a place where the strong devoured the weak. If the person one encountered was stronger, one had no choice but to offer up one’s neck.
‘To restore order to the people’s lives, they instead follow the laws of the martial world...’
Yeon-shin once again felt the paradoxical role of Desolate Fortress.
Though he knew it could not be helped, he hoped he would not be given a mission that clashed with his own heart.
* * *
Time passed where they stood.
By the time clouds caught in the sunlight had drifted into the distance, the White Uniforms had finished clearing the battlefield.
The Annihilation Squad Leader gathered Demon Wings, the Azure Sky Squad, and the Annihilation Squad.
The atmosphere was relaxed. Yeon-shin dropped to the ground beside Hyeon Won-chang and looked at the Annihilation Squad Leader.
“We will defeat the branch families first.”
The Annihilation Squad Leader continued quietly.
“The strength of a martial family is not limited to martial force. Their connections in the martial world are powerful as well. We must eliminate the contacts who could call other sects before that happens. Afterward, the main force will enter the Huangbo main house.”
“Blocking off Jinan should be enough. How will you organize the personnel?”
Ma Jin asked, speaking to the Annihilation Squad Leader as a junior.
“There are nine Huangbo branch families where the family’s martial arts have spread, one in each county of Jinan. Their martial strength has already been investigated. Exclude the White Uniforms. We will distribute the Blue Uniforms among them.”
“I understand.”
As they spoke, Yeon-shin studied the faces of the other Desolate Fortress masters, including the Annihilation Squad Leader.
What he intended to do now was something that required him to watch their reactions. It could easily look as though he was trying to monopolize the merit.
‘Though that is exactly what I am doing.’
The only people who viewed him wholly favorably were those of Demon Wings.
Even so, he had to do it. The Central Plains were terribly vast. On a single mission, it was common to see dozens of sunsets.
He had to accumulate as much merit as possible whenever he could.
He intended to overturn through martial arts any reputation he lost here.
In the gathering, where the heavy presence of the squad leaders seemed to weigh down even the Blue Uniforms, Yeon-shin raised his hand at last and spoke calmly.
“I would like to volunteer for a solo mission.”
The surroundings fell silent.
The Desolate Fortress masters were human too.
Yeon-shin had heard that there were those who privately coveted merit.
Yet Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin, was a young master who had only just become a Blue Uniform. It was bound to seem like reckless bravado.
The Annihilation Squad Leader stared at him and asked again.
“You want a solo mission?”
“I wish to temper in real battle a wide-area martial art I have recently learned. I will certainly succeed in the mission. If I cannot earn the recognition of the seniors present here, I promise to give up.”
“You.”
Qi entered the Annihilation Squad Leader’s voice.
“This mission is of great importance. We are facing one of the Eight Great Families. Do you know why I am even listening to you? Because you have risen to the rank of Blue Uniform. That is all.”
The force waves flowing from the Annihilation Squad Leader’s voice felt almost visible. Even pebbles scattered across the plains began to jump slightly as though responding to the inner energy.
Yet the hem of the Annihilation Squad Leader’s Black Uniform robe did not move at all. It was control of power that had reached the realm of the miraculous.
“Seom-ye. I thought well of you. In this world, martial artists capable of weaving ingenuity into their techniques are rare. I saw the makings of a squad leader in you, yet you disappoint me like this.”
Even Ma Jin did not dare intervene. Ma Jin only wore an expression that seemed to ask why Yeon-shin had not warned him beforehand.
Yeon-shin, however, was untroubled. The Annihilation Squad Leader had mentioned Blue Uniform.
It was a sign of respect. There was still a chance to show them.
This was different from when he had considered fighting Tyrant Sword.
He could prove at once that he possessed the ability to handle many enemies.
It was the martial art that had created his ill-fated connection with the Huangbo siblings on the Huizhou official road.
“I am sorry.”
He stood and cupped his fist. The masters formed a circle around him.
Every expression differed. He could see concern, interest, and displeasure alike.
‘It will be fine.’
He repeated it inwardly to reassure himself.
They said that among masters above Blue Uniform, there was no one who was not mad for martial arts.
He did not expect to impress them. He had never heard of Sound Arts created through the sword.
Would they not at least accept it after seeing it once?
Yeon-shin slowly grasped the sword hilt. It was not the Desolate Sword, but the Northern Light Sword. Its fine material made it suitable for Sound Arts.
Shing.
The plain lay beneath the noon sun. A dry gleam settled over the drawn sword.
Before the masters of Desolate Fortress’s three martial divisions, he was about to demonstrate his own new unique martial art.
“Protect your ears with inner energy.”
After speaking politely, Yeon-shin raised his inner energy according to the Sword Song’s mnemonic formula.
He divided the qi he had raised into two streams. Of the three acupoints clustered at the centers of the palms, he directed them into the Shaofu acupoint and Laogong acupoint.
He infused power into them at the same time. A cold light passed over the Northern Light Sword.
Wheeeeee!
The instant vibrations like a bird’s cry spread from within the long blade, more than ten nearby White Uniforms fainted and collapsed in all directions.
Footnotes:
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