Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

Chapter 69 – Fame (4)

Laughter burst from the mouth of the Blood Flame Sect Leader looking down. It didn’t stop.

The ecstasy flowing out grew deeper and deeper. It soon became maniacal laughter.

The Blood Flame Sect Leader began laughing madly while sweeping his white hair to the side.

Amidst that, Jeong Yeon-shin stared straight at Gao Zong-xue. The guy’s complexion was very bad.

He stood awkwardly, unable to figure out what to do.

“You don’t heed the command.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said quietly.

He slowly stepped towards the guy. He approached while blatantly leaking Demon Roaring Blood Technique true qi waves.

No one could stop him. The current Jeong Yeon-shin was wrapped in dignity. At least in the Blood Flame Sect, it was so.

The Grand Teacher who achieved a long-cherished wish.

Only the Sect Leader was above Jeong Yeon-shin who personally manifested a miracle.

The Blood Flame Sect Leader’s laughter resounding amid the silence was proving it.

Standing face to face with Gao Zong-xue, Jeong Yeon-shin looked up at him slightly.

“I commanded.”

“……”

“Present it.”

Gao Zong-xue couldn’t answer. His hand slowly gripping his own necklace was trembling.

All the sect leadership watched that sight in silence.

It was the scene of the Third Apostle’s son, one of the top Blood Swordmasters in the Blood Flame Sect, offering a treasure with his own hands to a Desolate Sect lowborn.

“A precious tribute.”

Jeong Yeon-shin gripped his hand.

The sensation of the jade smoothly wrapping around his finger joints was new. They said poison was more fearsome than any master in the world.

He had heard the value of the Poison Avoiding Pearl was incalculable in money. He had obtained the most valuable item among things he had owned in his life.

“Grand Teacher!”

The Blood Flame Sect Leader shouted with a smile all over his face. His voice was very hearty.

It was a sight unseen since being captured. It seemed the same even for the Blood Flame Sect masters.

While they couldn’t hide their bewilderment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s and the Blood Flame Sect Leader’s eyes met.

The Leader’s lips tore bright red on both sides.

“Come here! I grant you my side!”

Empty gasps burst from here and there. They weren’t ones maintaining indifference through evil sect’s deep cultivation.

He kept breaking conventions. The verse modification Jeong Yeon-shin showed had that much power.

“Such a strange thing…”

“Indeed so. Is it not a marvelous event.”

The servant who gained jet-black hair like a Apostle divided the gazes with the Grand Teacher.

“…Then.”

Jeong Yeon-shin climbed the thirty-six steps as the Blood Flame Sect’s Grand Teacher.

Meanwhile, servants with fluttering red hair moved quickly to make a seat beside.

The same heat seemed to linger on the faces glancing at the Grand Teacher. They were ones wanting black hair.

“Come quickly!”

The Blood Flame Sect Leader who split his mouth wide with madness gestured elegantly. Then he spread his arms wide.

“Music! Play the music!”

The place of purge changed. It turned into an unprecedentedly large congratulatory banquet.

They said rhythm striking people’s minds was a very effective means of rule.

It was the same even for the Blood Flame Sect which didn’t serve heaven and had no heavenly rituals.

Artists holding all sorts of instruments including zithers and flutes walked out.

“Take it.”

The Blood Flame Sect Leader smiled and held out a jade bottle of Du Kang wine. His touch was very delicate.

It felt like a streak of consideration was imbued in his wild bearing.

He just smiled slightly even when Jeong Yeon-shin only lightly touched his own cup.

“You must now learn the doctrine. To teach the Grand Teacher, ordinary rank won’t do. I should assign an elder.”

“……”

“However, since loading our sect’s ideology into your head has gained great meaning, I want to tell you the first key point myself. Listen. The essence of the doctrine is enough in one phrase.”

Though Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t answer, the Blood Flame Sect Leader continued speaking alone.

“Our sect burns the world’s chaos and distress.”

“Afflictions.”

He made a satisfied expression at Jeong Yeon-shin’s murmur. With a smile, the Leader’s white hair tilted slightly.

“That’s right. Buddhist monks call those two together afflictions. These thirty-six steps have great meaning.”

The Blood Flame Sect Leader lightly kicked the step floor. There was a lightness unbefitting an absolute power of the martial world in his action.

“We built them to overcome the thirty-six afflictions of the mundane world. It means our sect’s teachings are no different from Maitreya’s salvation.”

TL- Maitreya is a bodhisattva and future Buddha who is believed to be a savior and bringer of salvation.

“Is death salvation?”

Jeong Yeon-shin abruptly asked. The smile formed on the Blood Flame Sect Leader’s lips deepened.

“If we discuss the profound meaning, it wouldn’t be enough even debating while seeing dawn many times. Do you know the Ming dynasty was wrong from birth? The world has already fallen into an abyss. The Grand Teacher must also know of the poor harvests spreading across the Central Plains recently.”

The Leader’s long fingers stroked the cup. It was a gesture as if drawing on the ground.

“Bad years bring chaotic times. Since the murim is also not a world of immortals, but of those who must eat to live, what will happen is clear. Poor harvests breed famine, and the strong won’t endure hunger. Next is plunder. The boundary between government and murim will properly collapse.”

There was strange dizziness imbued in the evil sect leader’s words.

He unfolded insight befitting divine skills highly accomplished.

Were all masters of top sects counted in the world like this? Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips.

“Desolate Sect will be busy.”

“Your sect is powerful. But it’s small compared to the vast and boundless Central Plains. The country’s Great Ming Code? The day will come when the power of martial artists spread across the world changes to omnipotent authority. Martial arts are above the law. The Hwangbo family’s actions you saw were already saying so.”

“……”

“When founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and those elf b*st*rds raised the country, this seat clearly saw. The state of the Central Plains was truly a sight to behold. Fools under heaven lament blood techniques, but even our sect’s esoteric learning couldn’t match the horrors of war raised by Yuan and Ming.”

“…They say you’ve lived as long as the Nine Sects’ elf elders.”

“I guarantee. Calamities no less than then will come, and in that era there will be no heroes. Raising the banner of chivalry while stomachs shrink? Ridiculous words.”

The Blood Flame Sect Leader drained his cup and declared.

“The coexistence of martial arts and chivalry that dilettantes cry out for in the murim doesn’t exist. Only martial arts alone will remain, so our sect must spread widely. We will reduce the world’s mouths with blood techniques, and sect members strengthened by the power of sacred victims will re-establish order in the world.”

“Didn’t you say you burn chaos and distress?”

“It is our sect’s mission to trample the ignorant masses’ lack of understanding and advance. To remove afflictions, one must be afflicted.”

The exhale released with his words approached solidly.

I almost took it as deep insight. I couldn’t. An ominous quality was imbued together.

He was one containing both a martial world absolute power’s dizziness and an evil sect leader’s demonic energy in one body. It was close to chaos.

Jeong Yeon-shin only understood part of the conveniently twisted beliefs. However, there was no leisure to contemplate the coming chaotic times in this place.

‘Time is up.’

He felt the fading sunset light. He gauged the time.

The time given by Desolate Sect’s lord had passed. She could appear at any moment.

That’s when it happened. Suddenly a cry filled with resentment rang out.

“Almighty Sect Leader!”

Looking down, Gao Zong-xue was dragging some beggar-like boy by the scruff of his neck. He knew immediately upon seeing.

He was a commoner caught from outside. He seemed to have been beaten a lot. There was no intact place on the boy’s severely swollen face.

“The Grand Teacher has proven his marvelous talent! The momentum of the Demon Roaring Blood Technique he possesses is truly lofty, but I believe he has yet to display the wonder of star absorption! This Swordmaster wishes to enjoy the glory of presenting tribute to the Grand Teacher, I dare to request permission!”

“Hmm.”

Interest seemed to linger on the Blood Flame Sect Leader’s lips. He turned to look at Jeong Yeon-shin.

“This seat also knows it to be so.”

“……”

“Go down and add that boy’s meager strength to your nourishment. You should understand the marvelous principle of star absorption technique imbued in blood techniques. Go and demonstrate it. You will step into a new world.”

The voice tinged with laughter instigated murder.

Star absorption. Absorbing stars. They said fanatics tended to bestow holiness on their own actions.

Star absorption technique was what Blood Flame Sect warriors called true qi plundering differently.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt the time had come. A sense he himself couldn’t understand was detecting Desolate Sect’s lord’s gaze.

After slowly standing up, he began descending the thirty-six steps of affliction.

WUUNG.

He raised inner power.

He wrapped Demon Roaring Blood Technique true qi around Demon-Destroying Azure River Unyielding Palm Technique. This place was a den of demons.

The Blood Flame Sect main hall where one could say demons breathed. There were many supreme masters who could immediately see through ordinary supreme martial arts.

Apart from the talent for creating martial arts, the Blood Flame Sect Leader and Apostles were so.

The Third Apostle’s gaze glaring holes in the back of his head approached like a blaze of fear.

Unlike those amazed by the miracle, the gazes of some supreme masters who blindly believed in bloodline weren’t entirely kind.

It was a den of madmen. An momentum that seemed like they might carry out assassination even enduring the Leader’s anger was felt here and there.

‘Now let’s return.’

He had built up enough merit. They said the Desolate Sect’s General Administrator Office’s accounting was important in measuring merit.

He had left the main sect for too long. There were many things to receive within Desolate Sect, as many as the successive missions that had burst forth.

Step.

Before he knew it, he reached before Gao Zong-xue. He glanced at the boy sprawled beside looking up with a severely swollen face.

He was a strangely extraordinary child. Spirit could be felt from his eyes.

“Detest, detestable… blood demons… Father won’t forgive…”

The boy mumbled with slurring pronunciation. His gaze glaring at Jeong Yeon-shin was very strong.

Gao Zong-xue didn’t hit him anymore. He just smirked while staring at Jeong Yeon-shin.

“How is it? I’ve prepared someone who’s eaten lots of spirit medicine for the Grand Teacher. If you begin star absorption, I’ll gladly stand as dharma protector.”

It was a face as if asking if you can do it.

Jeong Yeon-shin silently stretched out his hand. Irregular waves unique to blood techniques spread from each finger joint.

The technique didn’t aim at the boy. It stretched towards Gao Zong-xue’s neck.

The fellow smirked and raised blood technique true qi.

Protective energy with quite a solid texture rose as red heat haze. He didn’t dodge.

It was an attitude as if facing childish venting.

“The noble ones can fold their convictions before the greater cause. Whether the Grand Teacher is also noble is another matter, but… Kuk!”

The essence of the move was the Demon-Destroying Azure Unyielding Palm. At this moment Jeong Yeon-shin realized the essence of internal energydeception.

The overlapped and wrapped true qi exerted different power than before.

Blood technique and dharma power. Opposing energies harmonized with innate sense. It was powerful.

It was enough to scatter Gao Zong-xue’s protective energy like mist and grab his neck.

It was the moment urgency appeared on the guy’s expression as energy rose. Jeong Yeon-shin gripped his hand as is.

Crunch.

He felt it while mercilessly crushing. The sensation of both carotid arteries tempered with true qi and neck bones crumpling together was clear.

He roughly pushed as if discarding a wooden stick. Gao Zong-xue’s corpse collapsed with a thud.

The eyes of the boy sitting and glaring at Jeong Yeon-shin became round.

“What deplorable!”

“You b*st*rd!”

The Blood Flame Sect masters’ perception ability was indeed like lightning. It was so even though a contextless event had occurred.

They rushed in raising a storm, and it felt like a prison of killing intent was instantly created.

Jeong Yeon-shin calmly stood blocking the innocent commoner.

‘I want to rest a bit.’

The murim journey that began from the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering had been quite long. How much merit would be counted was a secondary matter.

Though the mission rewards would be tremendous, it was separate from his current thoughts.

Was Hyeon Won-chang safe? Had the expedition team including Ma Jin suffered harm from the Hwangbo family?

His mind was hot. His Hundred Meetings point was filling with warmth.

At this moment, the suddenly arriving upper dantian energy sense depicted outside the Two Flame Blood Spirit Formation.

There were hundreds of martial artists lying in ambush surrounding the area. Their momentum was unusual.

The highlight was directly above the center of the sorcery formation.

Desolate Sect’s lord was making her light green palace-like robes flutter long.

She was positioned treading on wind. It was the bearing of a complete absolute master.

She was calmly demonstrating void stepping.

Her long extended leg moved. Her foot stepped down mercilessly on the barrier.

BOOM!

In that instant, the atmosphere rippled.

‘Let’s return.’

Jeong Yeon-shin thought. It was time to go back.