WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time ◈
Episode 92: Instant-Kill Martial Art (4)
──────
A hearty laugh spread across the Young Family Head’s face. His eyes curved in a gentle arc as he looked at Jeong Yeon-shin.
“You truly are bold. I have lost this one.”
“You showed me the spirit of the Imperial Sword Art. I gained something from it as well.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered calmly. There was no need to decide the outcome of their clash of wills.
The Imperial Sword Art. It was a divine art unlike anything he had encountered before. Had they faced each other directly in a spar, he would have had to concede a move.
“You gained something? I am curious to see how you will put it into practice.”
The Young Family Head’s smile deepened.
Jeong Yeon-shin read a competitive spirit in his expression. It was the bearing of one who walked the martial path.
He was like the practitioners of the Nine Sects. Jeong Yeon-shin thought him a man with many facets.
“Putting that aside, the Heart Martial Union...”
Namgung Hwa-shin approached Jeong Yeon-shin and spoke.
“I heard that despite its name, its structure is no different from the military. Under the protection of a feudal prince in Henan, it has become something close to a private army. It is a faction with many members.”
“Close to the military...”
Namgung Hwa-shin nodded at Jeong Yeon-shin’s murmur.
“Being a Hundred Commander does not necessarily mean one’s martial prowess is exceptional. The Heart Martial Union likely has many stronger martial artists. Those who fell here should be considered scouts. Greater experts may target you in the future, Young Hero Jeong...”
His voice trailed off. Worry showed on his jade-like face.
It was clear that he was worried for Jeong Yeon-shin, not himself.
“I know a little about the Eldest Young Master of the Heart Martial Union.”
The Young Family Head approached with his sword lowered in one hand. Blood still dripped from the treasured blade he had yet to sheath.
“You could call him a strategist with the bearing of a general. He is a troublesome man to have as an enemy.”
“It sounds as though his martial arts are not what matters.”
“You understood right away. He makes good use of human-wave tactics. He has clashed with my family several times as well. You should be careful too. If a village where you stop for the night feels strange, it would be best to turn back at once. If you can manage that, of course.”
“...I will keep it in mind.”
Jeong Yeon-shin answered briefly and fell silent. The Young Family Head’s words and actions gave him a strange feeling.
They were enemies destined to fight to the death, yet the Young Family Head advised him in a gentle tone, as though speaking to a younger brother.
It felt like an ordinary exchange between martial-world seniors and juniors. That made his conversation with Jeong Yeon-shin all the stranger.
‘Clear Qilin Namgung Se-jin... He is a peculiar person.’
Even on this brief journey through the martial world, Yeon-shin would have to remain wary. The sense of comradeship he had shared with White Qilin might take root even with someone he was meant to fight to the death. The boy deliberately emptied his mind.
He picked up the Desolate Sword that had fallen to the ground and turned away.
Perhaps the explosions from their palm techniques had driven off the birds. The forest path was quieter than before.
“Burying the bodies would take time. We should leave now.”
Namgung Hwa-shin came over at Jeong Yeon-shin’s words. He had been quietly watching the conversation between his companion and older half-brother.
“Are you injured internally?”
The question was blunt, perhaps because Hwa-shin had much on his mind. When the boy said he was not, Hwa-shin nodded without a word.
Behind them, Namgung Mi watched Jeong Yeon-shin with her lips pressed together.
“Let us go.”
At the boy’s words, the group sheathed their swords and started walking again. The Heart Martial Union’s attack was no small matter.
Still, it was not something that warranted delaying their journey. That was what martial artists were like. They stepped over corpses and earned their names.
‘Ah.’
As he walked away, Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly realized how numb he had become to killing. He felt nothing at all.
He had cut down enemies. That was all. He had not felt this way when he killed the Tyrant Sword Sect martial artist at Jeong Family Manor. Back then, he had needed to force himself to look away.
Was it because he was being chased by time with a fixed end? Or because he wanted to live, even if it meant stepping over his enemies’ corpses?
Tap. Tap.
Drops of rain announcing summer began to fall.
They came down at close intervals, like tears shed for the Heart Martial Union corpses.
Since the killer remained indifferent, perhaps it was not so bad for the heavens to grieve for them. Jeong Yeon-shin himself could become like that at any time.
The sound of rain striking leaves was clear. Only Namgung Mi’s irritated groans sounded like noise.
Jeong Yeon-shin walked silently through the summer rain.
He became newly aware that he had become a martial artist. The raindrops striking his shoulders were cold.
* * *
Shaaah―
“It just keeps pouring.”
Boredom tinged the voice of Changnyeong Flower Lord Namgung Mi. The downpour quickly swallowed even her words.
Rain seemed to be falling across the entire region. The glass-like summer rain soaked the group to the bone.
They had entered the southern reaches of Southern Zhili. This was Huizhou, where the Namgung Family’s main house stood.
“The streets are deserted. Even considering the rain, there seems to be an unusual lack of people.”
Namgung Hwa-shin, standing beside Jeong Yeon-shin, spoke. Though his blood relatives were present, he remained at the boy’s side.
His conduct seemed intended to make his position clear, and Namgung Mi shot him an annoyed glance.
The Young Family Head, wearing a bamboo rain hat and walking ahead through the mud, answered.
“Even a downpour like this does little to help the crops.”
“Is it because of the famine?”
“You are right, A-shin. It has become a serious problem lately. Even when common people are fortunate enough to grow food, that becomes a problem. Strong young men take it from them. Martial artists are not uncommon among those who do the same. Common people and martial-world fighters alike must eat to survive.”
“Crop failures have reached even Southern Zhili...”
“Wandering martial artists and unorthodox sects do not care about the lives of common people. Many commit atrocities. The people are restless, so if we travel through the martial world in the future, we must make sure to carry plenty of dried provisions.”
Jeong Yeon-shin silently watched the Young Family Head converse with Namgung Hwa-shin.
He had continued to assess the man throughout their journey as companions.
The aura he revealed in flashes, his unbelievably deep inner-energy breathing, even his footsteps, which seemed to train a movement technique in everyday life.
He was already a fully realized martial artist. Yeon-shin could not imagine defeating him.
‘If there were a flawless Languid Flame Dragon, he would be like that.’
Jeong Yeon-shin thought so. He was a genius who had trained longer than Yeon-shin but had never grown complacent. It was only natural that he was strong. Could Yeon-shin cut off that man’s head?
“Hmm? What is it?”
The Young Family Head turned, perhaps sensing Yeon-shin’s gaze. The boy shook his head.
At that moment, Namgung Mi, who had been watching Jeong Yeon-shin with cold eyes, approached with light steps.
“We will reach the main house soon. I wonder if you enjoyed your final tour of the martial world.”
“Is making pointless conversation your hobby? What a vulgar amusement.”
She snorted at the boy’s calm reply.
Namgung Mi was a direct-line descendant who had learned the family’s secret eye technique. She possessed eyes capable of perceiving weaknesses in martial arts.
The same was true of the palm technique unleashed by Seom-ye of Desolate Fortress. There were flaws in its preliminary signs and the precision of its direction. They were clumsy enough to become serious weaknesses among experts.
It was incomplete. Only its power was astonishing.
‘He is going to die soon, yet he gives me a strange feeling.’
She had felt that way since they first met. Something about his manner of speaking felt out of place.
It should have been impossible. It was not a feeling one should have toward someone one had never seen before.
Among all her peers, the only person Namgung Mi acknowledged was her older brother, Namgung Se-jin.
The Huangbo Family’s Languid Flame Dragon was dissolute, while Namgung Hwa-shin, who carried an assassin’s blood, was base-born. It was difficult to find anyone in the world who excelled in martial arts, character, and lineage alike.
There were nine young female martial artists in the martial world known as phoenixes.
Among the Nine Phoenixes, she believed herself unmatched.
No younger talent had ever caught her eye. No one had left a deep impression on her mind.
There was no one worth the effort of remembering. Only the name of Weiji Myo-hwa of the Zhongnan Sect, who had earned the title of Dragon, bothered her. That was because she had never seen Weiji Myo-hwa.
The Namgung direct line was Southern Zhili’s most powerful clan.
Namgung Mi had never faced a problem tied to survival.
Her world was built on values that wandering martial artists and members of minor sects would have considered extravagant. She liked the phrase, “I alone am supreme.”
‘Seom-ye Jeong Yeon-shin.’
She had received information gathered by her family. She had thought that a fairly exceptional rising talent was proving troublesome.
The boy was merely a pretext Desolate Fortress could use to attack the Namgung Family. He had not yet reached the caliber to contend for the world. He was too young.
Then what was it? Why did he not feel unfamiliar?
Her sharpened senses as a master of inner-energy cultivation refused to let go of the question.
Namgung Mi had only once looked down on an enemy of her own volition.
It had been intensely vivid. That person still ruled one corner of her mind.
A mask gaping like an evil dragon, a callused hand that had gripped her neck, indifferent eyes, a crimson robe that suited a bewitching and destructive aura, and a cold, imposing bearing.
“You.”
Namgung Mi’s lips moved.
“Will you show me your hand?”
* * *
Desolate Fortress’s Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury.
A fortress rose there in pure white stone. The library was as grand as the inner fortress of the main fortress.
Its marble walls were beautiful. They were said to have been brought from the Dali Kingdom’s royal palace after the kingdom was destroyed by the Lord of Desolate Fortress.
The gate guards stood with grave expressions. Desolate Fortress’s martial arts manuals were stored within.
The foundation arts of Desolate Fortress, brought from the imperial court.
The main fortress martial arts, devised by main fortress martial artists and compiled into secret manuals.
It was a complete collection of martial arts. Everything was gathered there.
“Was it around here...?”
A vast interior filled with the distinctive scent of books stretched before her.
A White Uniform martial artist of Demon Wings stood before rows of ancient bookshelves.
The girl in white martial robes was the youngest member after Seom-ye Jeong Yeon-shin.
Shin So-bin had begun to be called the White Cat of Demon Wings.
True to that name, she searched the library with large eyes that resembled those of a white cat.
“What are you looking for?”
“Ah.”
Shin So-bin turned at the deep voice that suddenly came from beside her.
She had been deeply focused. So deeply that she had not noticed another martial artist approach until they stood right beside her.
“Senior Red Noon Sword.”
The martial artist had the air of someone who had survived countless battles in the military. Red Noon Sword’s aura was rough and powerful.
The middle-aged martial artist, whose face and neck were marked with scars, nodded solemnly.
“That is right. We met during the Blue Uniform promotion examination. A treasured daughter of such a prominent family remembers even my epithet, though I was thoroughly defeated by the senior directly above you.”
“It was an impressive spar. Senior Seom-ye is... Well, anyone would find it difficult to keep up with him.”
“Should I call you the White Cat of Demon Wings?”
Shin So-bin’s brows drew together. She did not like the nickname.
Red Noon Sword smiled awkwardly in understanding, then changed the subject.
“Many main fortress martial artists linger around here. Whenever I saw them, I wondered whether I should offer advice, but your face was familiar, so I came over.”
“There are a lot of them?”
“Of course. These are the martial arts of the youngest Blue Uniform expert. Anyone would be interested. They must contain flashes of brilliant ingenuity. Even now, none remain because everyone has borrowed them. The manuals cannot be taken outside the Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury, so those who borrowed them must be practicing in the Training Hall behind the library.”
“It would be difficult with the manuals alone.”
“That is how hard they are trying. Once Seom-ye returns, the Demon Wings Hall will be crowded. Who would have known that, right before leaving for the Namgung Family sparring journey, he would make all his martial arts available? By now, countless people must be desperately hoping for Seom-ye’s victory.”
“Ah... I was too late again.”
Shin So-bin let her twin braids hang low.
“I saw Black Uniform squad leaders as well,” Red Noon Sword said, as though to comfort the discouraged girl.
“Ultimate Realm, Phantom Wing Step, Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand, Sihwa Boundless Fist, Radiant Sword Flow... They are martial arts manuals counted among the finest in the martial world. He gave them all away as though he intended to sweep up every merit.”
“There was plenty of talk about it in Demon Wings too. People said those techniques were too valuable to give away.”
“I wondered about it as well. Martial arts that spread widely are bound to produce counterforms. Even setting aside the Demon-Slaying Azure River Hand, which no one has managed to learn, are not all the martial arts he donated to the Gold-Piercing Martial Treasury Seom-ye’s main techniques? Even if he urgently needs merit, it is difficult to understand.”
“That is also Senior Seom-ye’s wish.”
Shin So-bin lifted her head and smiled.
“He once said he wanted to counter the counterforms again. He thought his attainment would advance another step. Even if I learned the first three forms of the Sihwa Boundless Fist and stood before him, he would calmly bring out a fourth form... Besides, it would be difficult to catch up to the mastery of the person who created it in the first place.”
“Counter the counterforms...”
Red Noon Sword seemed at a loss for words.
“By the way.”
This time, Shin So-bin spoke first.
“I did not know I would have so many rivals. If so many main fortress martial artists learn Senior Seom-ye’s martial arts, then even without a master-disciple bond under main fortress laws, there will be many people who revere him. I wonder if he will become the founder of a sect.”
“He has not opened a sect, so calling him a sect leader or founder would be difficult. But within the main fortress, a Seom-ye lineage is already forming...”
Red Noon Sword of the Annihilation Squad spoke slowly.
“Grandmaster would be the right word.”
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
