WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 91: Instant-Kill Martial Art (3)
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Jeong Yeon-shin sat beside Namgung Hwa-shin at the tea table and quietly studied the person seated across from them.
He was a handsome young man who appeared to be just under thirty, with gently downturned eyes.
His lightly closed lips seemed to speak of firm resolve.
He was the Namgung Family's Young Family Head.
'They said he was the older brother of the young hero White Qilin.'
Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin. He had once been said to be the foremost rising talent in Southern Zhili. That was a story of the past.
Lately, no martial-world gossipmongers spoke of him among the rising generation.
His build was as sturdy as his appearance was striking.
A long robe woven from fine blue silk seemed almost a part of him. Its color was even deeper than the Blue Uniform martial robes of Desolate Fortress.
Tap.
A Namgung Family sword wielder with long hair personally served the tea.
Despite her imposing presence, her movements were careful. She seemed entirely at ease in the role of an attendant.
If anything, she appeared to have volunteered for it.
“Thank you, Sister Yeon.”
“......”
She answered the Young Family Head with a faint smile, then stepped back.
Soon, she took up a watchful position by the door of the inn's annex.
Namgung Family martial artists were already guarding the place without leaving an opening. It was as though they were protecting someone of the highest dignity beneath heaven.
'They say the Namgungs of Southern Zhili are a family as powerful as royalty.'
Yeon-shin immediately sensed that the rumors were true.
“I am glad you look well.”
The Young Family Head looked at Namgung Hwa-shin with gentle eyes.
“I heard Desolate Fortress is a sect with strict laws. I had been worried about you, but the air of Xiangyang in Huguang seems to suit you. You have grown much stronger.”
“......It is thanks to you, Brother.”
“I suppose I did contribute a little.”
A mischievous smile touched the Young Family Head's lips.
“You have no idea how severely the elders reprimanded me. I was punished for helping you leave home. I had to enter seclusion for a month.”
“Ah......”
“I was so worried about you that I achieved little in the meantime. The Imperial Sword Art is still difficult to master. I wonder when I will ever reach great completion.”
“I am sorry.”
Namgung Hwa-shin lowered his head. The attitude differed from the one shown toward Namgung Mi.
To Yeon-shin, it seemed understandable.
The Young Family Head spoke again.
“I understand why you entered the martial contest. Since it was impossible to stop Desolate Fortress's event, you intended to settle matters yourself. I am sorry, and it pains me.”
“Brother......”
“It is simply the Namgung Family reaping what it sowed.”
The Young Family Head murmured as if reciting a verse, then slightly turned his head.
“And you are......”
His upright gaze settled on Yeon-shin. It was intense. Yeon-shin did not avoid it, calmly meeting his eyes.
“You are Seom-ye of Desolate Fortress. We have met before. The Sound Arts you displayed in Clear Night Valley were... deeply impressive.”
“I should tell you about Namgung Mi.”
At the boy's calm words, spoken as he held his teacup, the Young Family Head shook his head.
“The unorthodox master said to have appeared suddenly? Leave it. She is my younger sister, but Ami is a child burdened with much karma.”
“Um...?”
“As this family's Young Family Head, I investigated the matter involving the Wise Teacher Sect in Wuchang. She handled it in her own way. As her older brother, I can only regret that I failed to guide her properly. She has not accumulated resentment for merely a day or two. Something like this could have happened at any time.”
“Brother!”
Namgung Mi's sharp cry rang out from the guest room where the sickbed stood.
The Young Family Head closed his eyes once, then opened them. He ignored his younger sister.
Perhaps it was because of the powerful inner energy he possessed as the heir of the family. Or perhaps it was simply his temperament.
The colorless light blazing from his eyes was exceptionally clear.
He silently regarded Yeon-shin before speaking.
“I am a petty man with a narrow heart, just like the elders of our family. Even after seeing you today, I agonized over this until now. Still, this is the right thing to do.”
“What do you mean?”
“I should have pleaded with you first.”
With that, the Young Family Head rose from his seat.
Swish.
He stepped to one side of the tea table.
Then he slowly leaned forward, extending his hands and bending at the waist.
He showed no sign of stopping as his upper body lowered toward the floor. Sharp intakes of breath rose from all around.
And so,
the Namgung Family's Young Family Head bowed before a sixteen-year-old boy from a hostile sect.
“There is a saying about bowing a hundred times in apology. This is an apology I ought to make. I may not have the right to speak to you in Namgung's name, but this is...”
His voice came from near the floor as he remained prostrated.
“My deepest gratitude for your support of Namgung in Clear Night Valley, the apology of the Namgung Family's Young Family Head who repaid grace with betrayal, and the self-consolation of a coward who wishes to face you in the martial contest with even a little dignity.”
“......”
The silence around them was heavy. It was said that a martial artist who held dominion over an entire province of the Central Plains was no less than the king of a small country. The person destined to rule the martial world of Southern Zhili was practically a crown prince. Such were his power and authority.
Yeon-shin looked down at him with a calm expression.
The Young Family Head's head showed no sign of rising. His resolve appeared unshakable.
'This man's swordsmanship will be frightening.'
The boy showed no change in expression. Yet inwardly, he was taken aback.
The Young Family Head was a chivalrous man who clearly distinguished favors from enmities. Yeon-shin had not expected to find in a family the same air of righteousness he had sensed from the seekers of the Nine Great Sects.
He had even less expected his opponent in a life-and-death duel to be someone like that.
“I dare not ask for forgiveness. I know Namgung's sins cannot be absolved through this gesture. The martial contest has already been arranged, so simply accept it.”
The Young Family Head did not raise his head for a long while.
Namgung Hwa-shin remained silent with a bitter expression.
The Namgung Family martial artists standing guard each wore a different expression. After taking a sip of tea, Yeon-shin spoke.
“You are right. The life-and-death duel has been decided. One of us will have to die, so there is no point questioning its meaning now.”
“......”
“I will accept the Young Family Head's apology. You should rise and tell us why you came.”
“Thank you. Truly.”
The Young Family Head rose to his feet.
He slowly raised his head. An awkward smile rested on his face.
'Even his heart has been tempered.'
Yeon-shin thought.
The man before him possessed an unyielding inner self. It was chilling, yet Yeon-shin was curious. What kind of sword path did he follow?
* * *
“I heard you faced serious trouble a couple of times on your journey here. I came to protect my sister, A-shin, and you. Of course, I will send my attendants away. How could you trust us, Seom-ye?”
The Young Family Head acted on his words. He dismissed every Namgung Family martial artist who had come with him.
“I believe it would be proper for the Young Family Head to remain in his position.”
“Walking alone through the martial world is something wandering martial artists do.”
Some of them were reluctant to leave. That was only natural.
The Namgungs of Huizhou contended for the position of foremost orthodox family.
The Young Family Head was not someone who could freely roam the martial world.
“Do not disgrace me any further. I would be ashamed to face the masters of Desolate Fortress. Abandon any thought of following us from afar. I will punish insubordination by order of the Young Family Head.”
The Young Family Head drove them away with a calm command. His attitude was exceedingly firm.
Namgung Mi tried to leave with the subordinates, but the Young Family Head shook his head and stopped her.
“The spiritual energy of Human-Form Snow Ginseng is wondrous. I know your body has recovered. This may be the last time we travel the martial world. Have we siblings ever toured the world together in peace?”
“What do you mean, last time...!”
“Come with us. Huizhou is close. It will take only a few days.”
That left the four of them.
Yeon-shin's group departed Hwangju, where they had unintentionally stayed for five days. One unexpected traveling companion had been added.
They entered the forest path in silence. Eight footprints marked the ground, which was dappled with gold in places.
Perhaps there should have been ten, since the Seventh Apostle was following them while targeting Yeon-shin.
Namgung Hwa-shin and Namgung Mi, Yeon-shin and the Young Family Head.
It was not a group that could walk along harmoniously. One person at a time would have to die.
Only the Young Family Head's weighty jokes occasionally stirred up the dust.
“This is a good thing.”
The Young Family Head suddenly spoke. His smile, as he looked between Yeon-shin and Namgung Hwa-shin, possessed an oddly elegant charm.
“Seom-ye and White Qilin. Both your names have begun to spread beyond Huguang. If you both survive, cherish your bond as friends. Worthy rivals temper one another into divine swords. Languid Flame Dragon of the Huangbo Family was that for me. I hear he is imprisoned in Desolate Fortress's thunder prison?”
“I cannot know how he is still alive.”
Yeon-shin answered. Languid Flame Dragon was the man who had held an opium poppy between his teeth with a crazed expression. It was difficult to imagine him getting along with the Young Family Head.
“He seemed free-spirited at a glance, but he was a foolish friend. He wanted to leave his family, but kept that wish in his heart. We had much in common. It seems he achieved his dream in another way, but... the affairs of the martial world remain impossible to foresee even an inch ahead.”
The Young Family Head murmured with a bitter smile. At that moment, Yeon-shin and the others all turned at once.
“Is Seom-ye of Desolate Fortress there!”
A voice infused with inner energy thundered through the forest. It sounded less like a question and more like a declaration.
A group rushed from behind at terrifying speed. Every one of them carried a weapon.
There appeared to be around twenty of them, and the aura erupting from the group was far from ordinary.
The calm air of the forest began to stir beneath a fierce wind.
“You brat in a Desolate Fortress Blue Uniform! Endure the punishment of the Eldest Young Master of the Heart Martial Union!”
One among them stood out. A man who seemed to be the group's leader shot forward at astonishing speed. His sword was already drawn.
Slaash!
Without asking who was right or wrong, he launched a sword strike.
'Heart Martial Union.'
Yeon-shin immediately recalled the journey through the martial world during which he created Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand.
He had boarded a ship with Shaolin's Monk Won Jong and the rising talents of the Thirteen Heavens. A woman named Geom Ye-hwa had threatened an innocent woman, so Yeon-shin cut off her head.
Ma Jin had advised him afterward. She had a fiancé, so he should be wary of favors and enmities.
Tyrant Sword Sect, Blood Flame Sect, and Heart Martial Union. They were the unorthodox Thirteen Heavens with whom Yeon-shin had crossed paths and formed enmities.
Desolate Fortress had sent a challenge for a martial contest to the Namgung Family. The whole martial world had been shaken.
The roster would surely be known as well. Their route toward Southern Zhili was obvious, and they had delayed in Hwangju for five days.
'It would not be strange if pursuers caught up to us.'
He had expected this. Yeon-shin seized the hilt of the Desolate Sword and countered.
Clang!
The moment he drew his sword, he clashed blades with his opponent. The force of the blow traveled all the way to the back of his hand.
It was tremendous sword force, far beyond the ordinary.
Yeon-shin muttered.
“The Eldest Young Master?”
“I am the Hundred Commander of this union! The Eldest Young Master of the Heart Martial Union sent me to punish you!”
The middle-aged man shouted as if roaring like a lion.
'So you are not him.'
The fact that a commander of one hundred had come with only twenty people was a secondary concern.
There was little time, yet the enemies continued to multiply. Worry crept into him. Would he die on the road before he even ate the fruit?
At that moment,
an overwhelming presence stirred from the direction where the man's subordinates were charging.
They were not in a cramped space. A terrifying force erupted across a wide area from the Namgung Family's Young Family Head.
Whoooosh!
It felt as though all the air in the area had been pushed away. At the same time, the Heart Martial Union martial artists' movements rapidly slowed.
'No.'
They were not moving. Calling them slow was not enough. The bodies of all twenty people seemed nearly frozen.
It was a truly unreal sight. They were warriors who had learned the inner-energy arts of the Thirteen Heavens.
It was an otherworldly feat.
His martial prowess defied common sense.
“Imperial... Sword Art...”
Namgung Hwa-shin, who had drawn his sword at the same time as Yeon-shin, let out a groan.
While the boy fought the Heart Martial Union Hundred Commander, the Young Family Head had stepped before the Hundred Commander's subordinates.
A divine art revealed itself before Yeon-shin's eyes. It was the Namgung Family's unique martial art, said to have no equal beneath heaven.
“Clear Qilin! Why are you stopping us! Desolate Fortress is the public enemy of the martial world! Would it not be better to kill these bastards first, then settle matters with us afterward?”
The Hundred Commander shouted as he wrestled with Yeon-shin's sword.
The Young Family Head did not answer. Maintaining the divine art known as Imperial Sword Art, he looked at the boy and spoke.
“I only recently heard that you took the head of Tyrant Sword Sect's Eight-Fiend Rakshasa Sword. The news reached even Southern Zhili. Did you know Beggars’ Sect beggars were watching at the time? They call themselves parasites, but their knowledge rivals that of most masters. I was able to purchase quality information.”
Then he turned again. Heart Martial Union martial artists with drawn weapons filled the area around him.
“I hear you are adept at breaking down sword forms and at wielding the Sword of Destruction. You are said to unravel well and destroy well. That is why I do not intend to show you my sword forms in advance.”
“Haah!”
The martial artists trapped within the domain of the Imperial Sword Art shouted.
Now, none of them could move even slightly.
The Young Family Head stood aloof among them.
Drawing a splendid treasured sword, he walked down the forest path. One by one, he began cutting the necks of the enemies who could not move.
Dignity clung to his unhurried steps.
No one could withstand his sword strikes, though they were not even special forms. More accurately, they could not resist at all.
One died with every breath. Their lives ended alongside despairing gasps.
There was a saying: slay demons and eradicate heresy. The notion that orthodox sects showed mercy when they struck was nonsense.
The Young Family Head's hand was resolute as he wielded his sword. All orthodox martial artists were the same when facing the Demonic Sect.
At last, when every subordinate brought by the Hundred Commander was dead,
“How is this?”
the Young Family Head quietly asked.
“Seom-ye, can you break this down?”
Yeon-shin did not answer. In an instant, he gripped the Desolate Sword in a reverse hold and threw it. A burst of power drove it forward with full force.
He immediately slipped into the Hundred Commander's guard after the Hundred Commander deflected the thrown Desolate Sword. Gripping the stunned man's sword together with him, he placed his left hand against the man's abdomen.
He had already activated Mara Roaring Blood Art and Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand at the same time. The power of the sorcery-arts formation that rose from his palm bound the opposing martial arts into one.
Whoooosh!
Yeon-shin did not conceal it. He fully revealed the incomplete palm art.
The Heart Martial Union opponent was clearly inferior to him. Without concern for casting time or precision, Yeon-shin unleashed it.
Boom!
A tremendous tremor shook the forest. Even the trees in every direction shook for an instant. Flocks of birds burst into the air, flapping wildly.
“......”
The Hundred Commander's corpse, now difficult to recognize, had been hurled far away.
Yeon-shin shook the blood from his hand and turned his head.
Namgung Hwa-shin's face, with only a slight furrow between his brows, and Namgung Mi's face, frozen in shock, flashed across his vision.
Yeon-shin met the gaze of the Young Family Head, whose eyes had widened.
“I showed you.”
The boy spoke.
He was applying psychological pressure. The martial contest had already begun.
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