Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time - Chapter 82

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈

Episode 82: Battle for Supremacy

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"Seom-ye... I envy the other side. They will witness a heaven-shaking battle. The Namgung Family Head's opponent is truly unexpected."

"Wasn't it inevitable? The Fortress Lord left recently."

"They have to face the head of one of the Eight Great Families. No one but the Squad Leader could do it."

Jeong Yeon-shin silently listened to the conversation of the seniors surrounding him.

There was only one person in the world whom they would respectfully call the Squad Leader.

Seventeen martial units, including Demon Wings, the Swift Heaven Wing Squad, and the Annihilation Squad, formed the Divine Sword Corps.

The Squad Leader was Desolate Fortress's Divine Sword Squad Leader. Beneath the Fortress Lord, yet above everyone else in the main fortress. No position was more exalted.

'I still have not met them.'

Even after entering Desolate Fortress, he had never once seen the Divine Sword Squad Leader.

The Divine Sword Squad Leader always traversed the martial world. It was said they wrote a path that martial-world gossips called legendary.

It was said they wielded absolute martial might on the front lines and fulfilled Desolate Fortress's true purpose.

"Isn't the Squad Leader out on a mission?"

"The Squad Leader's direct Divine Sword Squad has been away for a long time as well. Rumor has it they went to strike Yeoryeong."

"Then they will head straight to the Namgung Family without returning..."

The seniors' conversation continued over Jeong Yeon-shin's head as he sat there.

"Did you say Yeoryeong?"

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly asked.

"They are one of the Thirteen Heavens. They value wealth and information above martial arts, and they are an extremely troublesome major faction."

A sharp-eyed middle-aged woman answered while stroking his hair.

She was O Wol-hyang, a Blue Uniform martial artist and master of blade arts who treated Jeong Yeon-shin like a son.

Several seniors chimed in.

"It is their resourcefulness, not their martial strength. Those Yeoryeong bastards are experts at plotting behind the scenes. They are troublesome enough that sword-crazed ghosts like the Tyrant Sword Sect would be easier to deal with."

"They say they have the Hao Clan in their grasp. There is also word that they are more connected to the other Thirteen Heavens than anyone else. Seom-ye, you may have fallen into their schemes several times without even realizing it."

Yeoryeong. Another of the Thirteen Heavens.

'The Thirteen Heavens...'

It was said that the thirteen unorthodox sects possessed a presence equal to the Nine Sects and Eight Great Families. The world was vast.

Even the Divine Sword Squad Leader seemed to lack enough time merely to keep them in check.

Some of the Eight Great Families might put on hypocritical airs in the secular world, but the atrocities of the Thirteen Heavens, born from the Demonic Sect and unorthodox sects, were even more conspicuous.

'Personally, I have clashed with the Blood Flame Sect and the Tyrant Sword Sect. There is the Heart Martial Union too.'

The Blood Flame Sect and Tyrant Sword Sect, whom he had clashed with several times, went without saying. He had even beheaded Geom Ye-hwa, a promising junior of the Heart Martial Union.

He recalled Ma Jin's warning about her background and fiancé.

It had been right after he killed Tyrant Sword Huangbo Jun while fleeing the Blood Flame Sect.

─The martial world's reaction to you is troubling. Fights between martial factions are not limited to all-out war. Battles among informants are no less fierce. The Chief Steward's Office sent word. They say there are people investigating the actions of Desolate Fortress's Seom-ye.

'I'm making more enemies.'

The grudges and favors he formed on each mission were rapidly increasing. He had a feeling that this journey through the martial world would not go smoothly either.

Was it a premonition from the upper dantian's ability? It did not seem likely to end as needless worry.

"We depart in four days. Just sorting through what you have is urgent enough. Everyone should leave."

It was Cheong Myeong.

With a slight wave of their hand, a cold wind blew like sword wind. The Demon Wings masters dispersed.

Before long, as though it were an everyday occurrence, they smiled, each offering Jeong Yeon-shin encouragement before walking away.

Jeong Yeon-shin dusted off his trousers and stood.

"Senior."

"Haven't you received plenty from this return? You should sort it all out before heading out again."

Cheong Myeong's blue eye curved slightly. Smiling, they continued.

"For example, elixir pills."

* * *

"Uncle Jang Myeong, you look much better. Did you brew yourself something good?"

A lively female swordswoman of around twenty greeted him.

The blue martial robe covering her body was an especially deep shade.

She strode without hesitation toward the Namgung Family's grand main gate, each light step sending up clouds of dust.

Servants and martial artists escorting her followed behind like scenery.

"Young Lady."

One of the gate guards looked at her with renewed admiration.

He bowed to the approaching woman and raised clasped hands in salute.

"It is the Changnyeong Flower Lord who has truly changed. Congratulations on reaching major attainment."

"Congratulations on reaching major attainment!"

The five martial artists guarding the gate alongside him saluted as well.

They raised their clasped fists in unison, their movements carrying even the crisp precision of a force wave produced through Force Projection.

Not just anyone could guard the main gate of a major martial faction.

This was even more true of hereditary martial houses whose power had endured for generations.

The gate guards were the face of the faction itself.

Naturally, they carried themselves with a grandeur worthy of being counted among the finest in Huizhou, Southern Zhili. Passersby on the broad road across from them could not look away.

As they passed, they whispered quietly.

"They are showing that much respect?"

"You fool. Even those escorting her are Namgung Family people. She is clearly a precious daughter of the family."

"The Changnyeong Flower Lord of the Namgung Family? That young lady is tanned and rosy-cheeked, isn't she? This one is so pale."

"How could you run a merchant group with news that slow? They say she consumed the legendary Human-Form Snow Ginseng, known through oral tradition. Its mystical, cold energy must have changed even her skin. She is incredibly fortunate. We have witnessed a legend of the martial world."

"What? Human-Form Snow Ginseng?"

Namgung Mi, the Changnyeong Flower Lord, heard every word. She did not bother paying attention.

They were not wrong. She had consumed the legendary Human-Form Snow Ginseng.

Her elder brother and father, the Young Family Head and Family Head, were already inner-energy masters whose lower dantians brimmed with qi.

"Well, it is thanks to fighting those blood demons. Have a good day, everyone."

She passed them with a light smile.

She could clearly sense the commotion they stirred up behind her, however quiet it was.

The family's martial artists made useful underlings. It was easy to receive the sort of reverence reserved for imperial princesses.

One smile and a light greeting were enough. Things she had naturally enjoyed since birth tasted even sweeter today.

"I'm going to see my elder brother, so rest and recover from the journey. You have worked hard."

She bestowed a few words on those who had followed her, then moved on. She answered their respectful salutes with a wave of her hand.

Whoosh!

With a few steps of a lightness technique, she cut through the air. Those passing through the family's inner compound jolted in surprise and hastily saluted.

Only direct descendants were permitted to move about within the family using the Body Movement Scripture, and the Namgung Family's eye technique made it easy to recognize their noble daughter despite her changed skin color.

Namgung Mi headed straight for Celestial Firmament Hall, where the Young Family Head learned the Family Head's duties.

"Congratulations on reaching major attainment."

The moment she entered, the guarding martial artists bowed at the waist.

They were all martial artists of Celestial Firmament Hall. They differed from the gate guards.

They carried themselves as though serving royalty, and they were the truly loyal retainers.

They were the pillars of the family, unshaken by any rumor that blew in from outside.

'Even if the imperial dogs bark that they will attack the family...'

Namgung Mi thought.

"The Young Family Head has given word."

One martial artist guided her. Blue curtains of exquisite texture elegantly decorated the inside of the hall.

The martial artist stopped at the side of a corridor.

"He said you may enter immediately."

She gave a slight nod and opened the door at once. The grand sword emblem painted upon it slid aside with the door.

With a soft sound, the office of the Namgung Young Family Head was revealed.

In a room large enough to serve as a Training Hall, precious rosewood desks stood in rows, gleaming reddish-brown.

"You have reached minor attainment."

Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin spoke without rising from his seat.

Calm eyes, a high nose, and features beautiful enough to be called handsome.

He was a dazzlingly beautiful young master, yet he did not lift his eyes from the documents he had been reading.

Namgung Mi did not mind. She pulled over a chair.

She plopped down across from him, crossed her legs, and spoke.

"Everyone else says I have reached major attainment."

"When the Blood Flame Sect raided the main family, we had to leave our forces empty to search for that Human-Form Snow Ginseng. Your inner energy may be vast, but its attainment is nothing special compared to the sacrifice."

Her elder brother's answer was indifferent.

Of the Namgung Family's Clear and White Twin Qilins, he was the Clear Qilin. Before Namgung Hwa-shin was called the White Qilin, Namgung Se-jin had first received the title of the divine beast, the qilin.

He was a direct descendant who possessed the White Qilin's bearing, famed for fairness and integrity, along with immense strength and authority. He had every reason to be arrogant.

"Even like this?"

Ssss─

With a slight ripple of her hair, Namgung Mi's skin became even whiter.

The documents on the desk trembled from the sudden surge of qi.

Mysterious white currents swept over her entire body.

Qi made her appearance clear, as though she were a goddess of northern wind and snow wrapped in a cold breeze.

She had taken a peerless spiritual medicine into her body. The depth of her aura seemed endless.

She spoke.

"I heard the imperial lapdogs dared to declare war on our family. A life-and-death duel, no less? Aren't they absurdly arrogant? Can the Divine Sword Squad Leader defeat our father, who has reached major attainment in the Imperial Sword Art?"

The imperial army could not assist Desolate Fortress.

If a mission failed in the martial world, where the Body Movement Scripture was highly developed, the loss of prestige the imperial court would have to bear was too severe.

The imperial court and Desolate Fortress never publicly acknowledged their connection.

That was why countless Desolate Fortress martial artists died across the vast martial world.

This matter, too, came down to a fight between the two sides.

Desolate Fortress, an imperially established faction, and the Namgung Family, the foremost family in the orthodox martial world.

It was not even an all-out group battle like the affair with the Huangbo Family.

If all they faced were ten proper martial matches, no one among the Eight Great Families would worry about defeat simply because of their opponent.

Namgung Se-jin said, "Do not speculate about the affairs of peerless masters. As you know, you have also been named. The contents of the challenge letter have spread across the Central Plains. It must be Desolate Fortress's doing. If we do not participate, the family's name will be damaged. We cannot refuse. It seems spectators from across the martial world will gather."

"And if they lose? Desolate Fortress, I mean."

"No martial artist fights expecting defeat. We are the same. This is no ordinary event. The winner's prestige will rise beyond measure."

"My beauty and epithet will become even more famous. No, I will get rid of Weiji Myo-hwa of the Zhongnan Sect and become the Sword Dragon instead. And..."

Namgung Mi continued with a composed expression.

"I heard Hwa-shin is coming back."

A smooth smile formed on her lips. Namgung Se-jin immediately furrowed his brow.

"That child is your elder brother as well."

"How could that lowborn bastard be? It is strange enough that you would call him that. More importantly."

Namgung Mi's smile deepened as she answered carelessly.

"The one who started this incident was on the list, wasn't he? That boy who used Sound Arts that would only work on weaklings. Seom-ye, was it? I saw him briefly last time."

"It is not a martial art to disparage. It was a divine art. Can you not imagine what threat it could pose in a group battle?"

She dismissed her elder brother's words with a quiet snort.

"I want to use that boy as a touchstone for my attainment. Let us go see them. Seom-ye and the White Qilin."

"What?"

"The imperial lapdogs declared war, didn't they? You said they already announced it to the entire martial world. Until the martial match, even the Divine Sword Squad Leader cannot kill us. This is unlike you, but aren't you quite dissatisfied over the Seom-ye incident? Don't you want to see whether he is worth killing and what kind of person he is? You can also meet your younger brother, who will soon die, beforehand."

"...You truly intend to kill A-shin."

"Not A-shin. Hwa-shin. He is not a child anymore, is he?"

"..."

"They must be setting out soon. I want to meet them beforehand and propose a winner-stays-on format. If it is a five-against-five martial match, the younger ones will fight first. I will kill Seom-ye first and finish with Hwa-shin. With your hypocrisy, elder brother, you would not want to stain your hands with the blood of a concubine-born child either."

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think this younger sister will lose?"

Namgung Mi asked with a red-lipped smile. Only the ruby color of her lips stood out against her snow-white skin.

"...That is not what I mean. You will not lose."

Namgung Se-jin, who had been staring at her, shook his head.

Soon, as though she had heard what she wanted, she looked satisfied.

"I can foresee your sword arts. The coldness of your inner energy will freeze your opponent's meridians first. Unless they possess overwhelming power, there will be no way to resist. Against someone of equal standing, victory is certain. Unless they have trained a body-tempering art since childhood."

"Why a body-tempering art?"

"Shaolin monks who have attained major achievement in the Muscle-Tendon Change Scripture temper even the insides of their bodies. They are said to reach the level where they can produce the flames of Samadhi True Fire within their bodies without difficulty. But it is not something you need concern yourself with now."

"Mm-hm."

She furrowed her delicate brows as if annoyed, then smiled sweetly again.

Then she asked, "So, will you come see them?"

* * *

On the day the delegation for the martial match against the Namgung Family set out into the martial world, Jeong Yeon-shin consumed the elixir pill he had received from the Medicine Hall.

It was a reward for the missions he had completed as a Blue Uniform martial artist. It was said to be a high-grade medicinal pill even within Desolate Fortress.

The boy sat cross-legged in the center of Demon Wings' Grand Training Hall.

Whoosh!

The hem of his blue robe fluttered without end.

It was vastly different from the standard elixir pills he had taken when he first entered.

Even the aura spreading from his entire body was gradually thickening. Faint currents could be seen from time to time.

His qi was taking form. A dim golden glow flashed now and then before vanishing.

Amid it all, sound transmissions flew back and forth.

The Demon Wings masters stood guard around the youngest Blue Uniform martial artist in a wide circle. Hyeon Won-chang was there as well.

─Leader, what is that color?

Imperial Hero asked Leader of Demon Wings Ma Jin without reserve. Ma Jin, who had been watching their nephew intently, parted their lips slightly.

─I heard he has laid the groundwork for creating an inner-energy method. It is not rare for suddenly increased qi to spur the budding of enlightenment. For now, it will only be the energy of the elixir pill, but perhaps a peerless inner-energy method may be born before this year ends.

─Huh...

─You are sending a breathy exclamation through sound transmission? Mind your manners, Hyeon Won-chang.

Hyeon Won-chang let the rebuke from the Leader of Demon Wings go in one ear and out the other. They could not help it.

Jeong Yeon-shin, the benefactor who had saved their life, had already reined in the waves of qi.

"Young Hero Jeong!"

Hoo─

Jeong Yeon-shin drew in a long breath.

"Young Hero Hyeon?"

He spoke with his eyes still closed, as though he had sensed Hyeon Won-chang's presence while Hyeon Won-chang carefully approached.

"Is it over?" Hyeon Won-chang asked.

"Yes."

"I am truly curious. How much stronger have you become?"