WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 81: Unity (2)
──────
‘She said it would be good to grow my hair out...?’
It was a joke from the absolute being who guarded the World Tree alone.
The Lord of Desolate Fortress was so exalted that it was difficult to imagine her making a joke.
He could not take any of her words lightly. Jeong Yeon-shin had to remember that.
He recalled the time he had searched for Hyeon Won-chang. To obtain information, he had debated martial arts with local martial artists.
He had even learned how to entertain others by deliberately losing verbal arguments, all to gain their favor.
Once he became a master, he would grow his hair out. He committed that thought to memory.
‘Still, if they are main fortress squad leaders, would she not call them masters?’
The realm of Black Uniform meant attaining Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and Five Qi Return to Origin through qi circulation.
He had heard it was a realm where qi responded immediately to one’s will, a level capable of contending with the elders of the renowned Nine Sects.
At that point, no one would likely be able to seize his long hair in close-range unarmed combat.
Once he stepped into a higher realm, he could grow it out.
It was only a brief thought. When he met her green eyes again, the Lord of Desolate Fortress spoke.
“You look so resolute. It was only a frivolous remark.”
A faint smile formed on her lips.
“Even if martial artists throughout the world made death their companion, Seom-ye’s intensity would not be lacking. It is not unpleasant to see.”
“...I am honored.”
“It is neither something to be grateful for nor sorry about.”
Her tone was as gentle as a spring breeze as she continued slowly.
“The main fortress is not stingy with its rewards. I summoned you to reward the merits you achieved through your aspirations. I will grant you what you deserve.”
At last.
The words he had finally heard from the Lord of Desolate Fortress made his heart pound. He tried to calm himself, but it was not easy.
Even after letting out a long breath, his heart continued to race.
The Lord of Desolate Fortress must have perceived everything, yet the small smile on her lips did not fade.
Everything in his sight slowed. Her lips, having just spoken of granting him a reward, opened again.
“Your merits are immense. I will name two.”
Her beauty, which attested to her peerless martial prowess, did not catch his attention.
He could only stare at her face, which looked no more than four or five years older than his own, as though engraving it in his mind.
“The merit of locating the main altar of a heretical cult that harms the people, and the merit of contributing greatly to the destruction of the rebels without casualties.”
“...”
The first merit had only come about because the Seventh Apostle coveted Yeon-shin’s value.
That had been the beginning of the main altar incident. Yet he did not feel awkward about it. At this moment, the reward he was about to receive mattered more than anything.
“You have accumulated sufficient merit. It is enough to test your qualifications.”
As she spoke, she reached out her hand again.
Her palm, unusually white for a martial artist, slowly rose. Then something exceedingly strange happened.
The moonlight behind the Lord of Desolate Fortress was drawn toward her hand and began to warp.
She created a truly transcendent sight. To Yeon-shin, it did not seem like something a person could accomplish.
“This...”
Whoosh.
The enormous tree trunks surrounding the study exhaled a gentle breeze that seemed to tickle his body.
Leaves, turned green by the dazzling breath of the full moon, brushed over her entire body.
“This is a fragment of the World Tree fruit.”
It looked as though someone had scooped up a handful of moonlight reflected upon a lake. A fragment of light budded in the Lord of Desolate Fortress’s palm, dim as if moonlight had been given form.
“...”
Yeon-shin fell silent. A gust blowing in from outside the wall-less chamber teased his neck as it passed. Of everything he had seen in his life, this was the strangest miracle.
Hum.
Even its vibration sounded divine. He stared intently at the fragment of light resting in the palm of that exalted being.
Though it concerned the goal of his life, he felt nothing from it. It differed from spiritual medicine that increased one’s inner energy.
There was no surging energy. It only felt deeply mystical.
“I know what the world believes.”
The Lord of Desolate Fortress spoke.
When he raised his head, he met eyes as deep as a forest abyss. She was gazing quietly at him.
“They are all wrong. This is not spiritual medicine that grants great power.”
“You spoke of qualifications. Then what kind of...?”
“You will know once you feel it.”
Her hand moved slightly closer, bringing the fragment of light nearer.
The longer he looked at it, the more mysterious it seemed. It hardly felt like an object of this world.
“Eat it.”
Yeon-shin instinctively raised his hand, but she slowly shook her head.
“If it leaves this body, it loses its effect. You must bring your mouth to it.”
There was a term: rare and wondrous treasures.
It referred to precious, strange treasures. Imugis, spiritual beasts, monsters, and mountain ginseng shaped like people.
Such was the nature of the famous spiritual medicines of the Central Plains, along with the many divine swords said to display miracles.
The upper ranks of the martial world were filled with things difficult to accept through common sense.
‘It loses its effect if it leaves her body?’
The Lord of Desolate Fortress spoke as if she herself were the World Tree.
Countless questions arose in his mind. Were they connected through something spiritual?
Did her title as the guardian of the World Tree encompass that meaning?
Yet he did not dare voice those questions. He feared appearing presumptuous.
That was his position now. The Lord of Desolate Fortress had not called him a master. He was only in a position to accept whatever she bestowed.
‘Senior Cheong Myeong said the information one encounters changes as one rises in rank.’
For now, he decided to aim for Black Uniform. That would be enough.
‘Even so.’
The World Tree fragment before him was a fitting reward. He had every right to accept it.
Without hesitation, Yeon-shin lowered his head slightly toward her hand.
At the same time, he slowly opened his mouth. His lower lip touched her hand first, followed by the tip of his nose.
“Ah?”
Yeon-shin let out a puzzled sound. The Lord of Desolate Fortress had withdrawn her hand.
“It does not look proper.”
Her tone was calm. At the same time, the fruit fragment slid down to the tips of her fingers.
Swish.
She extended her hand toward him.
The dim light gradually filled Yeon-shin’s vision. It was not moving toward his mouth.
It went straight for his head. The passage leading directly to his upper dantian seemed to be reacting already.
Her long fingers touched the space between Yeon-shin’s brows.
At that moment.
“Gasp!”
His breathing for Static Training stopped at once. It could not have continued. In an instant, his consciousness vanished.
He felt as though he were sinking into an abyssal swamp, while an endlessly heightening sensation wrapped around every thought and surged upward.
Whoosh!
This was not an increase in power. It was an experience.
It felt as if he had entered the mind of an untouchable being. A tidal wave of sensations rose within him, swelling with terrifying speed.
He sensed every component of the air brushing against his skin and drew in the energy of nature.
His senses became sharper than he had ever imagined. His perception was so intense that it felt as though he would go mad and die.
Suddenly, he became aware of time flowing slowly. He could see the moonlight moving.
At this moment.
Jeong Yeon-shin had become the Lord of Desolate Fortress. He sensed both her sight and the surrounding air.
Through her eyes, he looked upon himself. The Lord’s features reflected in his black eyes were mysterious.
Could there be another occurrence like this among all the world’s miracles? It was impossible to believe.
...That instant felt like an eternity.
Her faint breathing was clear, yet she had not even finished a single exhale.
The wind that had swept past his ear had not yet drifted away. Even so, it was difficult to endure. His own upper dantian gradually felt as though it would burn from being forced beyond its limits.
“That is enough.”
The moment the Lord of Desolate Fortress spoke as if reciting a verse, time, stretched unbearably long, instantly resumed its flow.
Whoosh!
Yeon-shin returned to himself. His body swayed. Perhaps it was because he had experienced senses that seemed to surpass even the highest realm.
Just as he was about to lose his balance, a soft hand wrapped around his shoulder and held him.
It was the Lord of Desolate Fortress.
“It cannot be done now. It is too early.”
She spoke. Yeon-shin only raised his head and met her gaze.
“What do you mean, it is too early...?”
“Your realm is too shallow to accept the fruit. Devote yourself to training.”
“What exactly was its effect just now?”
“I tested whether you could accept the spirituality of the World Tree. Once the vessel of your thoughts becomes firm, so long as the clan’s tree does not wither, you will not ascend through the Baihui acupoint. You will live forever.”
She spoke of spirituality. It seemed to mean that by sharing in the World Tree’s sacred nature, his life would be preserved.
This, too, was beyond common sense.
Yeon-shin asked whether his understanding was correct.
“Your interpretation is correct.”
The Lord of Desolate Fortress slowly nodded. The fruit was the medium for it.
‘What...’
He had experienced one of the martial world’s greatest mysteries firsthand. Before joining Desolate Fortress, he had imagined a legendary panacea said to cure every illness.
He had only been half right. Feeling empty, Yeon-shin asked once more.
“If I rise to the rank of Divine Sword Squad Leader and receive a complete fruit through fitting merits, are you saying I must reach the Purple Uniform realm and bear the spirituality of the World Tree?”
“That is also correct.”
“...Then, the sensation this unworthy disciple experienced just now...?”
He asked about the world he had seemingly seen and felt through the Lord’s eyes. Her lips curved slightly.
“It was inevitable.”
Swish.
The soft hand on his shoulder gently pushed Yeon-shin away.
“And it was a gift.”
“Ah.”
He stepped down from the tree trunk. Before he knew it, all his senses had returned.
Yet the peerless world he had just experienced remained vivid in his memory.
That was why it had been a test, and why it was a gift.
He did not know what she meant by inevitable. Still, it was an experience that would guide him greatly someday.
Perhaps it might even help with the mission ahead. Inspiration for creating a cultivation method was rising within him, intense and unmistakable.
“May you remain victorious until you reach Southern Zhili.”
She spoke.
It seemed she knew Yeon-shin had been selected for the martial contest intended to punish the Namgung Family.
The Chief Steward’s Office was said to handle all major and minor affairs within the fortress, but it seemed there were matters she paid attention to as well.
‘She is dismissing me.’
She had wished him victory. It meant he could leave now.
“May the Lord of Desolate Fortress remain well too.”
Yeon-shin calmly offered his respects.
Rustle.
The soft sound of robes brushing together reached him with fresh clarity.
The Lord leaned back slightly. She gently reclined against the tree trunk.
Yeon-shin watched her slowly close her eyes, then turned around.
The moment he left the study, the stone doors that had opened on their own earlier closed by themselves.
It was likely the principle of Remote Object Manipulation used by the Lord of Desolate Fortress. He was used to it now.
Yeon-shin descended the stairs. Unlike when he had climbed them, they felt remarkably short.
‘So that was what the fruit was.’
His heart felt strange. Perhaps it was because he had experienced something he had never imagined.
He had fully experienced one of the martial world’s inexplicable mysteries. He thought anyone who experienced it would feel the same.
He had even heard the word immortality. It was far removed from his current self, at the very opposite end of the road.
‘Even if I receive the fruit.’
He knew his realm was insufficient to contain its efficacy.
Experience from missions led to growth in martial arts and greater merits. In the end, it meant he had to return to the fundamentals.
Step.
The boy emerged from the inner citadel of the Lord of Desolate Fortress and silently continued on his way.
Under the bright moonlight, his shadow gradually stretched longer. The deep night was nearing its end.
* * *
The next day, at the Demon Wings Grand Training Hall.
An official notice arrived through the Chief Steward’s Office. It was a letter detailing the next mission.
Seated in the middle of the Training Hall, Jeong Yeon-shin unfolded the mission assignment.
His seniors had formed a circle around him. It was somewhat amusing to see them gathered together, peering down at it.
“Seom-ye’s name is on the martial contest delegation. It really is written here.”
“It is truly an honorable matter. If only I were ten years younger...”
Some of the seniors, who possessed martial eye techniques more refined than Yeon-shin’s, seemed to have read it first.
The boy read through the letter marked “Expedition Roster” at the beginning. He skipped the miscellaneous introduction and checked the list first.
[Execute the following five in life-and-death duels.]
Namgung Family’s Changnyeong Flower Lord.
Namgung Family’s Young Family Head.
Namgung Family’s Celestial Firmament Sword Corps Leader.
Namgung Family’s Elder Council Head.
Namgung Family Head.
[The following main fortress martial artists shall prepare themselves.]
Swift Heaven Wing Squad’s White Qilin.
Demon Wings’ Seom-ye.
main fortress Elder Council Head.
Desolate Ma Family Head.
Divine Sword Squad Leader.
‘Divine Sword Squad Leader?’
Yeon-shin’s eyes widened.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
