WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 78: Contest (2)
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“Where is the Lord of Desolate Fortress?”
“I have not seen the Lord of Desolate Fortress in quite some time. Not since before the contest was announced.”
At the seats of honor in Desolate Fortress’s central Training Hall, the Elder Council Head spoke with the former Divine Sword Squad Leader.
The elderly man draped in Purple Uniform smiled. He was Desolate Fortress’s Elder Council Head.
Even in the small gesture of stroking the white beard hanging beneath his chin, his presence was no less imposing than Ma Yeon-jeok’s.
He spoke.
“Quite some time? It has only been seven days. You ought to pay more attention to your own household. I heard there was quite a reckless disturbance.”
“I have just come from losing my temper there. Before she is royalty, she is part of my household. How dare she act so rashly...”
Ma Yeon-jeok muttered with a fearsome expression.
He had just turned the separate residence of the Desolate Ma family upside down. Ju Yeon-jeong, Ma Se-in’s birth mother, had contacted Seom-ye.
Something that might have gone unnoticed had come to light, thanks to the disturbance caused by the Demon Wings martial artists.
“Is she not your nephew’s wife? You cannot simply call her rash.”
“I am deeply disappointed. I thought she would place the Ma family on solid ground alongside Se-in.”
“How could anyone remain calm when their child’s right of succession is threatened? All the more so when it is the fault of an in-law who married in.”
“An in-law who married in? So you were jealous. Even after seeing that display, you say such things. If you mean it, you should start looking for a grave plot for your eyes.”
Ma Yeon-jeok pointed below.
At the center of the Training Hall, Seom-ye, Jeong Yeon-shin, had won the contest leading up to the final match.
The boy in a blue long robe slowly sheathed his sword.
There was no tremor in the motion, and his calm expression stood out all the more.
He had easily defeated a White Uniform master on the verge of advancing to Blue Uniform. That meant he was a martial artist worthy of recognition from anyone in the martial world, on par with an elite of the Nine Sects.
He was said to be sixteen years old. It was difficult for anyone to believe.
“The Namgung Family’s Clear and White Twin Qilins made their names at an age younger than that child.”
The Elder Council Head spoke with a smile.
“The legitimate eldest son, Clear Qilin, has the Imperial Sword Art, while the concubine-born White Qilin has the Boundless Firmament Sword. They say the two will become invincible together. Do you think Seom-ye, whose upbringing was so humble, can catch up to them? Those raised in comfort with spiritual medicine have qi filling both their sinews and meridians. It is not a gap that can be overcome by feeding him superior elixir pills at this late stage.”
“...”
“Of course, Seom-ye is extraordinary as well. I have heard of martial arts that slay fiends and Sound Arts said to wipe out the weak. Still, they will not work against a supreme master of the orthodox sects.”
“I know how much White Qilin has grown. White Qilin was strong to begin with, but seemed to have assimilated the energy of spiritual medicine throughout his minor meridians.”
“He is a child I have been watching closely, and his accomplishments are remarkable. They said Languid Flame Dragon was trapped in the thunder prison, did they not? Even Languid Flame Dragon can no longer look down on White Qilin. White Qilin has received talent from the heavens. Even without being born with something like severed meridians, his aptitude is exceptional. Yet Seom-ye’s circumstances are different.”
The Elder Council Head continued, pointing at Seom-ye and White Qilin in turn.
“Look at their faces. White Qilin may be concubine-born, but he was raised comfortably. A smile has settled around those lips. Is that not pleasant to see? It looks entirely natural. But what about Seom-ye? He has so little expression that one would think he was raised being beaten. Look at those cold eyes. He has the face of someone made for killing.”
“...”
“No one can defeat someone who smiles. If their childhood is perfect on top of their talent, there is nothing more to ask for. White Qilin has everything. If his older brother did not exist, White Qilin might have become the Namgung Family Head. As for Seom-ye, I cannot say.”
“Already...”
Ma Yeon-jeok spoke again.
“He may already be comparable to White Qilin. Yeon-shin, that child was born with unprecedented senses. Martial arts created with the aptitude of a Grandmaster will surely fit him perfectly, so I cannot even imagine how much further he will grow.”
The Elder Council Head smacked his lips theatrically.
“Expressions can be fixed. I am even considering taking him in as an adopted child. Or... my granddaughter has talent to spare.”
“Walk over my sword first.”
“Then I should take in White Qilin. Still, if you feel so strongly, why do you not take Seom-ye in yourself? You do not even seem able to shower him with gifts.”
“...”
“I think I understand. You are afraid, are you not? Afraid of offending the maternal grandson you cast aside. Or perhaps the Lord of Desolate Fortress gave you a scolding? You would have done something long ago otherwise.”
The Elder Council Head grinned.
“...”
“Both, then! How pitiful your karma is!”
Ma Yeon-jeok gave no answer.
As Ma Yeon-jeok remained silently tight-lipped, the Elder Council Head’s amusement deepened.
“It seems like a dream when you commanded the martial world as Divine Sword Squad Leader. Do you remember the day you exterminated the remnants of the Demon Cult and planted a banner bearing the character for ‘desolate’ atop Tian Shan? You were truly strong then. There were few in the world who could compare to you. How did you fall so miserably?”
“Because the Ma family’s martial arts are far from orthodox cultivation.”
The Elder Council Head’s eyes widened slightly, as though no answer had been expected.
“You have changed somewhat.”
It was true.
Ma Yeon-jeok had not originally been the kind of person to say such things.
The talent of the maternal grandson he had come to know belatedly was dazzling.
He assigned people. He used the family’s masters as informants.
They were told to observe Seom-ye directly and report on him as he traveled through the martial world. Ma Yeon-jeok could not order them to intervene.
Defying the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s ultimatum was close to defying heaven, even for Ma Yeon-jeok.
That was why Ma Yeon-jeok could not respond when the Seventh Apostle of the Blood Flame Sect kidnapped Seom-ye. It was absurd.
The report had said that, while the Namgung Family stood by, they could not even approach two Apostles and dozens of cult swordsmen.
Ma Yeon-jeok was furious at himself for not assigning supreme masters to protect Seom-ye, but it was too late to remain bound by what had already happened.
Only when the Lord of Desolate Fortress personally stepped in did Ma Yeon-jeok feel relieved. The raw, vivid reports recounting his maternal grandson’s deeds stirred his heart.
A headlong rush.
Nothing but a headlong rush.
The boy ran without rest. It was enough to make Ma Yeon-jeok feel breathless while reading the reports.
His path, as though he had devoted everything to achievements and martial arts, even began to foster noble spirit.
At some point, when he came to his senses, his identity as Ma Yeon-jeok of the Desolate Ma family had begun to recede into the distance.
It was always like that when thinking of the boy. It felt as though the years spent as Divine Sword Squad Leader were slowly winding back.
It was an emotion that even Ma Yeon-jeok found difficult to define.
Ma Yeon-jeok spoke.
“You said I had fallen. It was inevitable. What is built easily collapses easily. One’s prime does not last long. I can only envy the old people of the Nine Sects. I have thought about it for a long time.”
Ma Yeon-jeok looked down at his maternal grandson. Seom-ye and White Qilin’s match was already close at hand.
Ma Yeon-jeok murmured.
“Yeon-shin will become a divine sword of the main fortress. The Ma family’s martial arts do not suit him. I should think of another way. All the more so if that child is to face the Namgung Family, the foremost family of the orthodox path...”
* * *
The combination of Mara Roaring Blood Art and Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand.
It was a method developed while living in the Blood Flame Sect’s main headquarters for so long, turning sorcery formations into martial forms.
At this moment, he only heightened its precision and power. The sensation produced by the opposing methods of circulating inner energy was special.
‘Cold.’
His extended left hand felt chilled, as though submerged in ice. Qi surged through the Neiguan acupoint below his wrist.
As irregular waves rose through the Blood Arts, the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand enveloping his left hand emitted a turbulent radiance.
It was a blue light that pulsed like a heart.
The moment the blue glow around his left hand swelled, a roar erupted.
Boom!
A force wave exploded in midair. Instantly compressed air burst outward and reached the ground beneath their feet.
Amid the dust that shot upward, Namgung Hwa-shin’s body was flung back. The heavy recoil pushed Jeong Yeon-shin back as well.
‘I need to refine it further.’
Its power was undeniable. Even without landing a hit, it had driven a master like White Qilin seven steps back.
Yet the problem was just as serious. Its precision was severely lacking.
It was an excessively taxing circulation of inner energy. If it could not even land an effective blow, it was meaningless.
It was a task that needed to be solved before going to the Namgung Family.
For now, it was fine. His opponent was greatly shaken.
The instant Namgung Hwa-shin regained his balance amid the aftermath of an unfamiliar martial art, Jeong Yeon-shin caught the tiny opening.
Thud!
He stepped forward. It was True Step.
He had already raised his intent in his lower dantian. Qi burst forth from the Yongquan acupoint beneath his foot.
Whoosh!
Wind swept past his ears, and Namgung Hwa-shin rapidly grew larger in his vision.
He closed a distance of five steps in a single stride. Qi rippled from the hand that drew the Desolate Sword.
‘Radiant Sword Flow.’
The sword marks of Zhongnan Mountain had been sublimated into a unique martial art and unleashed.
The moment he twisted his arm within the dimly distorted haze of light, the Desolate Sword shot forward in a straight horizontal strike.
Clang!
A sharp white light blocked it. Clear aura swept toward him.
Was it the Namgung Family’s Boundless Firmament Sword?
His eyes met Namgung Hwa-shin’s across their locked swords. Colorless light gleamed in the eyes reflecting Jeong Yeon-shin’s face.
Namgung Hwa-shin seemed completely absorbed.
Namgung Hwa-shin pressed harder.
The power behind the sword increased. Deep inner energy pushed against him.
This was the moment White Qilin’s understanding of his opponent became an understanding of himself. Namgung Hwa-shin crushed an opponent lacking inner energy with sheer force.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s arm holding the Desolate Sword trembled slightly.
The elixir pills received as a reward came to mind. He had deliberately not taken them.
There would be countless enemies who had consumed spiritual medicine since birth. Jeong Yeon-shin came from a third-rate martial family.
He would face situations where strength fell short at any time. It would be foolish to blame his inner energy every time.
It was fine if people called it an odd habit. He wanted to build experience and overcome it through instinct.
“Hup!”
He twisted his waist and loaded qi into the oblique muscles along his abdomen.
The inner energy gathered all the way to the Zhishi acupoint supporting his spine flared fiercely.
Flap!
His robes billowed as he spun with the force pushing against him. He had deliberately yielded in the contest of strength.
He gathered the Spinning Thread Force created by the rotation into his left fist. After the Radiant Sword Flow came the Sihwa Boundless Fist.
A Helix force wave swept the ground as it surged upward through his straight punch. A gust gathered around the cloth at Namgung Hwa-shin’s flank.
A heavy impact rang out. Namgung Hwa-shin spun widely and brushed past Jeong Yeon-shin.
It was the exceptional Unimpeded Pure Current Body.
The blue long robe caught in the spiral of the force wave immediately spread out again.
‘He responded the instant he felt the Helix current.’
Jeong Yeon-shin could tell from the brief contact with the robe against his fist. It was shallow. The strike had not damaged Namgung Hwa-shin’s organs.
There was more.
As their bodies crossed, Namgung Hwa-shin’s sword light flashed and grazed his thigh.
It stung faintly.
They had exchanged a complete move.
Tap.
This was a powerful enemy who had observed Jeong Yeon-shin’s unique martial arts and devised counters. Jeong Yeon-shin advanced without waiting for Namgung Hwa-shin to attack first.
Namgung Hwa-shin did the same. It was a sword technique that began by raising the blade high overhead in an upper stance before opening wide.
A great family’s properly mastered martial art was imposing yet dazzling.
The forms of the Boundless Firmament Sword released unrestrained force waves and descended upon Jeong Yeon-shin.
Whoooong!
One sword carried several colorless waves of aura. They approached like a net covering the sky.
It seemed to be a technique called sword qi, one of the many branches of force waves.
‘Dodge and cut through.’
He used Phantom Wing Step.
The Purple Cloud Pellet incident at Mount Hua Sect came to mind. It was a footwork technique he had created while undergoing Ma Jin’s test to receive a solo mission.
The first was the Phantom Wing First Step.
Namgung Hwa-shin’s sword paths and the directions of the force waves entered his sight with startling clarity. The Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head grew warm.
A single step that could move through the net of sword qi etched itself into his mind. It burned with a brilliant, glaring light.
He stepped exactly as it showed him.
Step.
The moment his foot landed, the aftermath of sharp sword power cut through the cloth on his shoulder and fell away.
In an instant, they engaged in a tactical contest of calculations.
Namgung Hwa-shin released another force wave as though anticipating where he would step. Jeong Yeon-shin had foreseen that anticipation and altered his footwork to evade it.
Step.
The boy took another step forward without concern. Aura spread beneath his feet.
Phantom Wing Second Step.
Colorless waves forcefully pushed away the scattered force waves of the Boundless Firmament Sword.
It was the step he had gained while drinking a cup of Thunder Immortal Treasure Wine and speaking of the martial world.
The distance closed once again before he knew it. He created a fighting interval and broke through the pressure.
Hum!
He struck the Desolate Sword upward again with the mnemonic formula of the Radiant Sword Flow. Namgung Hwa-shin was also preparing a linked sequence.
The descending diagonal sword stance looked like a painting.
The instant streams of wind leaked along the blades of the two Desolate Swords, inner energy erupted as the swords collided.
Clang!
Heavy recoil surged through his grip in an instant, numbing his senses. Jeong Yeon-shin suppressed a groan.
He could not stop. The fighting interval between them was too narrow. All that remained was a fierce exchange.
Dodges and collisions began to repeat without end.
Clang! Claaang! Boom!
Radiant Sword Flow, Phantom Wing Step, Sihwa Boundless Fist’s Helix, True Barrier, and Fist Flower.
Jeong Yeon-shin unleashed every martial art he had created and mastered so far.
He used the bout to refine his martial arts. It was another form of training.
Even when blood sprayed, even when sword wounds split open, it remained the same.
Whenever Namgung Hwa-shin, who had already studied Jeong Yeon-shin’s unique martial arts, thrust the blade in with terrifying counters, Jeong Yeon-shin changed the mnemonic formula on the spot and struck back.
“...”
The crowd gradually fell silent.
It was a match between geniuses, their martial arts pitted against each other.
Extraordinary talent flashed in every uninterrupted exchange of blows.
The surroundings, once loud and bustling, slowly quieted.
“...Truly remarkable.”
Someone spoke. It was a whisper. Those who agreed likewise whispered.
“Martial arts I have never even seen are being unleashed without end, yet he is not being pushed back by the Eight Great Families’ ancient divine art.”
“White Qilin’s skill is amazing too. Is he really handling that much inner energy so skillfully?”
“Demon Wings Seom-ye... They already say he is a Grandmaster. That he creates martial arts and cultivates them himself.”
“Is he really facing one of the Eight Great Families’ divine arts with unique martial arts? Even at a glance, does he not lack qi? The martial arts of famous families grow stronger without end as they accumulate years...”
Jeong Yeon-shin heard none of it.
Like Namgung Hwa-shin, he was completely absorbed. They exchanged perceptions, tactical calculations, and the essential formulas of martial arts.
It was a realm of talent shining like a comet.
He wanted it to last forever.
His unique martial arts, which had always suited his body, felt as though they were seeping through his entire being.
Fwaaaash!
The wind coiling around his extended hand felt soft.
Sword qi rippling from Namgung Hwa-shin was split apart at the end of Phantom Wing Step by the True Barrier force wave of the Sihwa Boundless Fist.
His technique became endlessly more precise.
He was incredibly happy.
The sensation of talents colliding and rising together was intoxicating.
Something throughout his body felt as though it was awakening again. The anxiety he had felt while counting down the seven days until the full moon eased.
Without thinking, he remembered.
He had elixir pills too. He would meet the Lord of Desolate Fortress soon.
Then.
The boy began to smile.
Footnotes:
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