Hey guys- in my desperation to scream about White Lotus Halo, I did a quick and rough translation that mostly was just me typing in a fever dream and screaming about idioms and how I should translate them.
Ido notintend to translate on a regular basis, nor should you expect that I didn’t make any mistakes. I did most of this in one night because I made promises I couldn’t keep.
I wish you the best on your journey through this forest of sketchy grammar and rampant typos.For the summer, I (and a friend) will be translating halo! Please anticipate!
Syn
Chapter 18- Bao Pu Zong
Bao Pu sect was also in the Western Continent with Cang Ya Mountain, with one in the north and one in the south; the two sects often interacted, each as one of the three sects of the ‘One Mountain, Three Sects’.
If one were to talk about the Western Continent, the first sect one would think of was Cang Ya Mountain, the second would be Bao Pu Sect.
Many people have forgotten that 2000 years ago, Bao Pu sect was the Western Continent’s number one sect, reigning far above Cang Ya.
If it wasn’t for the emergence of a Sword Saint in Cang Ya Mountain, who was furthermore on bad terms with Bao Pu Sect…
In other words, the rise of Cang Ya Mountain was also the fall of Bao Pu Sect. The wheels of history continue turning, leaving behind the glory of the past to turn to dust.
But there was always someone who didn’t want to forget, nevertheless resign to this fact.
Bao Pu Sect’s dissatisfaction had been suppressed for one thousand six hundred years, passed down in the sect with the words of their techniques from generation to generation
In order to avoid trouble, Luo Mingchuan already spread the pressure of one who’s in the Breakthrough stage1. Naturally, this saved them a lot of encounters with mountain bandits, who had scattered like leaves under this pressure.
Unexpectedly, there was another group on this obscure and out of the way path in the Pan Long district, also heading to the Flower Picking Festival.
To them, this pressure felt a bit provocative.
And thus, this situation appeared.
Amongst the cyan robed group one person stepped out. His cultivation was but at the initial stage of the Soul Condensing stage—despite being before the Breakthrough stage Luo Mingchuan, he did have a domineering air about him.
“Bao Pu Sect is here on business; who are these trivial riffraff to block the way?”
Luo Mingchuan originally intended on giving way, but with these words coming out of that person’s mouth, his already shifting posture straightened and he gave a half greeting2.
“Cang Ya Mountain, Xi Qian Peak, Luo Mingchuan.”
By this time, Yin Biyue and Duan Chongxuan had arrived. Hearing Luo Mingchuan introduce himself, Yin Biyue decided to also make a greeting of his own.
“Cang Ya Mountain, Xi Hua peak, Yin Biyue.”
“Xi Hua Peak, Duan Chongxuan.”
They had given a half greeting, but the other party must return a full greeting. Luo Mingchuan was Cang Ya’s head disciple and Yin Biyue and Duan Chongxuan were disciples of the Sword Saint, while the opposing group were all third generation disciples from Bao Pu Sect.
The disciple that previously spoke up shook himself out of his shock, hardened his expression, and represented the group to make a greeting.
When Luo Mingchuan reported his name, the Bao Pu sect disciple was nearly unable to hold back from yelling, “Do you think I’m an ignorant three year old brat to fool around with!? How could a Cang Ya disciple be dressed so shoddily?!”
But when the other two people stepped out from behind him, he had to forcibly swallow back his words.
Because the identity of the Sword Saint’s disciples was something no one dared to misconstrue.
The Bao Pu sect disciple’s arrogance couldn’t be faulted. Luo Mingchuan was not wearing the uniform robes of Cang Ya Mountain but was instead clad in plain clothes. Yin Biyue was wearing a black cloak that still covered half his face, and add in a Duan Chongxuan who was dressed like a walking golden idol…
No matter how one looked at it, the three didn’t look like disciples of any proper sect.
They looked very soft and very easy to bully.
But when Luo Mingchuan initiated a greeting, that softness turned into a sharpness that only appeared weak on the surface.
It made the Bao Pu disciples in their formal uniform robes seem like a bunch of boorish villagers.
If Luo Mingchuan didn’t greet them first, being from different sects, there’d be no need to observe such formalities.
But now they had no choice in the matter. Though they were unresigned to the oppression, they could only return the greeting.
A male voice sounded from the forest, the indifferent voice bearing a irrefutable pressure.
“Shizhi3, stand down.”
The leader of the Bao Pu Sect disciples’ expression suddenly changed to one of joy, and respectfully replied, “Yes, He-shishu4.”
It wasn’t only him, but the ten or so Bao Pu disciples all put on joyous expressions. The group spread out to the sides, respectfully welcoming the person exiting the forest.
Yin Biyue had long understood that for this group of people to act so domineering, the one with the highest cultivation couldn’t be the apparent leader from just now.
After knowing their origins, the group was shocked but didn’t panic. It could be seen that the leader of the group must be someone with an identity, position and cultivation that wouldn’t lose to the three people before them.
Although they called him shishu, the man walking out of the forest had the appearance of a young man.
His body was thin and his face pale, wearing the same cyan robes as the other disciples. He somehow exuded a sense of gloominess, as if it were ancient moss growing on a stone.
The entirety of his Breakthrough stage cultivation base was revealed, clearly wanting for a confrontation with Luo Mingchuan.
The Bao Puzong disciples gathered behind him, letting him take the lead.
The atmosphere took a sharp turn.
Yin Biyue had already started considering which set of sword skills he’d want to use when it came time to draw swords.
The young man brought his hands together, and gave them a half-greeting. “Bao Pu Sect, He Lai.”
His name was very simple; so simple that it was odd.
But Luo Mingchuan already showed a face of understanding, because the young man really is famous.
The youth’s voice contained traces of contempt, “Our unawareness that the respected disciples of Cang Ya Mountain were here and our failure to recognize you has caused offense. Please forgive us.”
Asking for forgiveness like this, it was clear that he still had no intention to give way. In fact, saying “failure to recognize” was like accusing them of being strangely dressed, their conduct unjust.
He took a glance at Duan Chongxuan, his eyes full of scorn and a degree of disappointment.
He Lai was indeed disappointed.
Because the whole world was speculating about what kind of characters the Sword Saint’s disciples were, but when he saw them today, he felt that the Sword Saint’s esteemed name was difficult to match. His coming to the Flower Picking Festival was largely due to the Sword Saint’s disciples’ participation. Seeing them now, they were just so. Completely not worth the trouble of the trip.
No one present was an idiot, and everyone naturally was able to discern the meaning of his words.
Amongst the Bao Pu sect disciples a few sneaking snickers emerged—soft, but grating.
Duan Chongxuan also laughed. He moved forward a couple steps and bowed his head in regards, “He-shixiong, I’ve long been looking forward to meeting you; it’s an honour.”
Yin Biyue detected that Chatterbox’s aura had changed.
It wasn’t a bluffing aura of power, but one that came from within.
Even the flamboyant golden vinyl silk robes on his body seemed to transform into a dignified set of imperial robes.
He said “it’s an honour”, yet it seemed as if he said “Kneel down.”
Duan Chongxuan continued: “Shifu, that old man5, taught us that for cultivators ‘the heart’s desires will not transgress’6, do not allow external forces to affect your heart, do not allow what you’ve seen to blind your eyes. To ‘center oneself upon oneself’ rather than to ‘entrap oneself in material objects.’7 If the heart is unyielding, then in your heart, a famed sword or a folding fan, the sect robes or luxurious finery—these are all external objects.”
He Lai’s face became unsightly. But there was no way to refute and say what the Sword Saint said was wrong.
Duan Chongxuan’s tone of voice changed again, and the smile on his face slowly deepened.
“Meeting like this is fate. Although there is the saying of first come first served, meeting with cultivator-friends from Bao Pu sect, all of you adorned plainly, your pearls of jade talents hidden away8, living life in poverty to devote yourselves to your dao9—I must truly admire you! Since fellow cultivator-friends appear to be in a hurry, unwilling to delay even a moment, what reason would I have to not step aside?” He gestured with his folding fan, generously stepping back, “Please, proceed first!”
The Bao Pu sect disciples’ expressions froze, waiting for He Lai’s decision.
Luo Mingchuan didn’t give them a chance to speak,
“This dispute over crossing this narrow road is inconsequential, but if word were to spread, it would be difficult to avoid the accusation of my Cang Ya sect bullying people. My sect has always placed importance upon courtesy, this kind of ill repute cannot be carried!”
He retreated off to one side, bending into a posture indicating he was making way for them to pass.
“Please, you proceed first!”
Yin Biyue couldn’t unsheathe his sword anymore.
If Duan Chongxuan’s words danced around in a huge circle in order to implicitly express “you’re ugly, so you go first.”;
Luo Mingchuan would be straightforwardly saying “you’re weak, thus you’re the one who’s reasonable.”
Xi Hua Peak’s external affairs representative on top of the Cang Ya Mountain’s external affairs representative—how did these two people with MAX level speaking skills end up together!?
For the first time, Yin Biyue deeply felt the phrase “cannon mouth to justice.”10
After everything that had been said and done, if the Bao Pu Sect disciples still wouldn’t go, then they’d really seem too contentious.
Because… they’ve already given way! They couldn’t say anything else! None of it would make sense!
He Lai cupped his hands, said, “We shall meet another day,” and turned to lead the Bao Pu Sect group away.
When the Bao Pu sect people walked off into the distance, Luo Mingchuan once again took the lead.
Yin Biyue walked up alongside Duan Chatterbox, and without warning asked, “Shifu really said something like that?”
Duan Chongxuan spoke self assuredly, “I’ve only ever seen Shifu’s portrait, who knows if that old man said it or not!”
Yin Biyue once again found himself speechless.
He dared to make up even the words of the Sword Saint, if they were in the Northern Empire….
Then he’d dare to pass a fake imperial decree! Sooner or later they’d be found out!
On a winding forest path, the boughs of the trees shaded them from the sun.
The disciples clad in cyan robes were unwilling to just admit defeat, and asked, “He-shishu, we’re just going to let it go like this?”
He Lai, who had been silent the whole journey, heard these words, and a smile spread over his face.
“The current Cang Ya Sect has fallen to the point that their quickest aspect is their tongues, for what reason is there to fear?”
As soon as it was said, someone immediately echoed this sentiment. “That’s right! At the Flower Picking Festival, shishu will definitely teach them a lesson!”
Someone asked, “Is that person who had a black cloak covering half his face really a disciple of Xi Hua Peak? No matter how I look at him, he doesn’t seem like a good person.”
The disciple who first confronted Luo Mingchuan replied, “I,at first, didn’t believe that the three of them were Cang Ya sect disciples, but when that person came out, that’s when there was no doubt! Half a month ago, the spy that was arranged at the foot of Cang Ya Mountain sent word back. Xi Hua Peak had someone who was met with an accident, and in the course of one night all his hair became white! Thinking about it, it should be that person just now who was all covered up!”
They showed a look of understanding, and someone said, “Then this inevitably would result in great damage to his cultivation. I really don’t know what he thinks he’s still coming to the Flower Picking Festival for!”
Bao Pu sect’s disciples chatted and laughed, lightheartedly walking forwards.
It wasn’t that Duan Chongxuan enjoyed having a nimble tongue, it was just that he didn’t like to suffer any losses. It was just a function of his environment growing up; no matter if it was speaking or taking action, there was never a good reason to suffer any losses.
Luo Mingchuan also didn’t enjoy warring with words, but he believed that there was no need to take action when things could be solved with words.
And even when he was using only his words, he still couldn’t stand being bullied.
They were upholding their own logic, without caring how they appeared in the eyes of others.
Yin Biyue believed, before arriving at the Flower Picking Gathering, there’d be no chance for him to draw his sword.
But he still had some questions he didn’t understand: “That one called He Lai, is he very famous?”
Duan Chongxuan looked at him in amazement, then laughed with his brows rising into his hairline and became out of breath.
“Fourth shixiong, this is a question you should’ve asked to his face. He definitely would’ve vomited enough blood to cover his whole robe!”
Yin Biyue truly didn’t know. Though he read through all the classics and records in Lan Yuan Academy, and was able to recite the origins and histories of the various sects, he was unclear on which so and so genius emerged within the last hundred years.
He only knows that the Qing Lu Sword Sect has a “Sword of Wind and Rain” Zhong Shan11, but only because he really is too famous to not know.
Duan Chongxuan then asked, “Have you heard of the ‘Seven Sons of Bao Pu’?”
Yin Biyue gave it a thought, “I do seem to have heard of the name. Isn’t there one named Lin Yuangui?”
Duan Chongxuan thinks that the other six people would be able to vomit out a whole robeful of blood.
However, he still patiently explained to his own shixiong, “That He Lai from just now, was the fifth of the ‘Seven Sons of Bao Pu’.”
Yin Biyue came to a sudden revelation.
But if the Fifth is like this, then what were the remaining two like?
Duan Chongxuan continued, “Of the Seven Sons Bao Pu, four of them are spiritual cultivators, and three of them martial cultivators. Lin Yangui, who is ranked first, is like eldest shixiong in Cang Ya Mountain. The other six seem to have some strange ideas about living life and making a name for themselves as their path to cultivation… I sometimes feel as if it’s only because Bao PuZong is trying to fill up the roster did they allow those six to fall under the same name as Lin Yuangui.”
The Chatterbox, once started, cannot be stopped.
“Say, what kind of logic is this? Can victory be assured with just numbers? If I were to somehow gather together enough people to form the thirty-six celestials and seventy-two earthy fiends12 in Cang Ya Mountain, a total of one hundred and eight people, could I not crush the entirety of the cultivation world!? If I was Lin Yuangui and stuck together with these six people, I would have already unhesitatingly left the mountain and betrayed the sect!”
Yin Biyue felt that this chatterbox, towards Bao Pu Zong… Just how much hatred was there!?
His thoughts took a turn and he immediately understood. Bao Puzong, this thousand-year second-placer had always had a weird yin and yang type of attitude towards Cang Ya Mountain. Most importantly, one could say that the relationship between the Sword Saint and Bao Pu Sect was Very Bad.
The Sword Saint, it was the Sword Saint again.
Every time Yin Biyue thought of this cheaply gotten shifu, his heart felt rather conflicted.
He didn’t know why this long wandering Sword Saint would send a letter to eldest shixiong to accept disciples and to take him into Xi Hua Peak.
But when he took a look at the Duan Chongxuan who was immersed in his cursing…
No, he had absolutely no idea what standards the Sword Saint accepted disciples with!
When mentioning the Sword Saint, then one would also think of the Director. It was said that these two people were still on friendly terms.
Out of all the outstanding children in the academy, why did he get chosen for the task?
Could it be a magnetism between villains?
Tsk, the actions of the bigshots will always sink people into a quagmire of confusion.
Yin Biyue thought, if he had a resume, he’d definitely write it like this:
My name is Yin Biyue.
I am a villain.
I like to cultivate, like to practice swordsmanship, like to contemplate, and like so-and-so.
I am a man who wants to become the ultimate villain.
You can insult me, but you cannot insult my goal in life.
You can doubt me, but you cannot doubt my dedication to professionalism.
The protagonist has a golden finger. Wherever he wants to go, the world will pave the way for him.
I have a Fiendish Halo. Blocked by gods, slaughter gods! Blocked by Buddha, slaughter Buddha!
I am Yin Biyue. I am here to advocate for myself.
Pei! Avocados too greasy!13
Here’s some translator’s notes, I guess :^)
1) There’s some less commonly used cultivation stage terms used here, so I just made it up as I went along as best I could. This one is 破障境, which essentially means something like “breaking through barriers” so… breakthrough?? honestly…. whatever HAHA.
2) 行礼, which is basically a formal greeting where one cups their hands together and bows.
3) Martial nephew. I just like the structure that the hyphenated honorific lends.
4) Martial Uncle.
5) I translated 那老人家 as “that old man”. I didn’t need to, but it was funny and preserves the oddly casual tone DCX took while referring to the Sword Saint.
6) 不逾矩 basically means not transgressing what is right. He “quoted” basically if a cultivator follows their heart, they won’t go wrong.
7) ‘以我转物’而非‘以物役我 The make the self the center of everything rather than the enslavement of the self to material objects. Put together, it’s basically to abandon earthly desires and to allow the self to control the external. Check out this: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BB%A5%E6%88%91%E8%BD%AC%E7%89%A9%EF%BC%8C%E7%89%A9%E5%8B%BF%E5%BD%B9%E6%88%91/12507084
8) 玉韫珠藏, basically the concept that one should treat themselves like a treasure, and hide their talents.
9) 安贫乐道 (ānpínlèdào) a la baidu: “be contented in poverty and devoted to things spiritual”
10) 嘴炮即正义 (zuǐ pào jí zhèngyì) it really just means… using the power of rapid speech to achieve victory/justice lmao. Please refer to: https://v.qq.com/x/page/d03643szjoc.html
11) The title is ‘风雨剑’钟山 which is “Wind Rain Sword” and Zhong Shan is… a cute kid we meet later lol
12) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_Stars_of_Destiny random reference. WHY DOES DUAN CHONGXUAN KNOW THIS?? Has he watched Water Margin?
13) This was a shitty pun in the original. There’s this stupid meme in china where they basically say I’m bringing the the salt for myself (我为自己带盐) which is Wǒ wèi zìjǐ dài yán which sounds the same as 我为自己代言 (I am endorsing myself). The last line is originally “Pei! How salty!” but I WANTED TO MAKE A SHITTY PUN TOO.
Duan Chongxuan is the bane of my existence. Duan Chongxuan shut the fuck up challenge. Duan Chongxuan stop spewing idioms challenge.
A fun fact: He Lai’s name… is really…. stupid. It means “why did you come” or “where did u come from” and I’d cry every time someone said my name tbh.
Blue Goldfish bro called this a three man comedy act and goddamn never is it more accurate. God, it’s so funny. And it’s a fun change of pace where the teammates are the ones talking themselves out of situations and Yin Biyue is just “But…. sword….. fight”
Congrats! You’ve somehow survived this minefield rife with typos and shoddily constructed sentences.Shout out to Avocado bro and Mazz for editing from our friendly neighborhood discord server! I’m sure there’s still random mistakes we didn’t catch but!!!!! it’s pretty readable!
syn
Henlo there! Kuro here joining the team! This chapter has finally been edited and revised by Nabi and me. Hopefully there are less random mistakes now. I’ll be slowly updating each chapter. See you in the next one~
Kuro
Edited: 6/22/2020
三杯凉茶 
Thankyou so much for translations and don’t get discouraged by the mean comments.😘
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Oh wow, I just got the avocado pun in the second read *facepalm* haha
Thanks for the translations!
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This chapter was translated well, but it needs a little bit of clean up. You should go back and have a QC look over c18, since I found a slight bit of grammar errors throughout the text.
If you were going to pick this novel up from Sak, you should have tried to work with her by messaging to see if she would have allowed you to co-partner on her site, at least. Frankly, her translation is better, in a sense, as it conveys the same message like yours, but in a more formal wording style.
Also, I’ve skimmed the chapters you’ve translated so far – they’re good but lack certain neatness and structure. You repeat some words, which I dislike, but the quality of this translation, overall, is still great. Another, I like how you keep the original meaning of the words in here: shixiong, shishu, shidi, etc.
For example, your version: “Bao Pu Sect is here on business; who are these trivial riffraff to block the way?”
In contrast, Sakhyu’s version: “Bao Pao Sect is handling our affairs. Where did this small fry spring from to obstruct the path?”
As you can see, the former is truer to the text, while the latter carries a more formal wording with cleaner grammar. Frankly, I think a collaboration would have been amazing between you two. You are both talented!!
Ah, missed chances, because of pride and ego. To be so young! Tsk, tsk.
Hopefully, before stealing a novel or picking one up that is already being translated – asking to work together first should always be a priority for everyone! Both of you are truly skilled, and it heavily weighs my heart the most, because we are missing out on such a superb partnership. Truly, tis a pity.
But I can see the pro’s and con’s from each side, however. Slow updates versus fast-paced ones, cleaner quality versus truer-to-form quality, etc. I don’t envy neither of you the task on taking up this dilemma. In no way am I saying Sakhyu was lesser or worse as a translator, because she isn’t – she is freaking wonderful and we have to appreciate all the effort she’s put in! Otherwise, we never would have known this novel existed until she introduced it to us fans. *sigh* It seems, being a translator and reader isn’t an easy task for either sides nowadays.
Either way, I wish to thank you, ThreeCups. For the quicker updates with good quality. Sorry for the critique…I don’t mean it in a negative way. I do like and appreciate all these chapter updates; it’s really nice to read consistently.
Thank you for the chapter.
PS. You with the name – Cher! Shut up!! I honestly doubt a small-minded person like yourself is a real-life editor. Pffttt, please! You’re making us the (true pro-editors) to lose face. What an embarrassment…
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Hello! I’ve addressed the why and how of the translation in a separate post.
And I agree, these first few chapters were indeed incredibly rough, done by one person essentially overnight, and posted with minimal editing. Kir and I are intending to completely overhaul the first ten or so chapters once we get a good chunk of free time.
My personal views on Sakhyulations and her overall attitude is what has stopped me from wanting to work with her. I won’t go into detail as to why but I do not intend to ever collaborate. If you’re interested in the nitty gritty I’m happy to share in private.
My personal writing style is relatively formal and pulls more grandma than I’d often care to admit. I took great efforts in order to more accurately convey the tone of the original over flawless grammar and formal wording.
In that particular phase you’ve chosen as an example, I truly struggled to lay down my own pretense in order to convey the nearly rough manner of speaking. Casual speech is truly where I, personally, struggle. I’m the one doing all of the final stylistic editing, along with a good portion of CN>EN QC so you can imagine how easy it would be to simply… forget that something was used more recently than ideal.
I believe just the matter of translation style as point of contention would, at least for me, render a collaborative effort rife with irreconcilable friction.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on things more in depth! It’s been so hectic lately that the editing on chapters has gone… for lack of a better word- missing. (Re: chapter 40 was me translating in a haze at 7am, with a single edit fueled by 7 cups of coffee). I’m woefully overworked in terms of editing/translating/reworking each chapter, especially considering that I haven’t written anything more creative than fudging a result on a lab report in the last 7 years.
Well wishes and happy reading,
Syn
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I see. Well, my dear, I can see where your point of view is coming from, and I understand you believe Sak and yourself to be incompatible, but I’m an old hand at seeing what other’s can not see for themselves. Your translating skills balance each other well. I can only say this, because literature and writing were and are my forte throughout my yesteryears til my present day.
Anyway, I can’t say why the relationship has gone rotten for Sak and yourself, but I do wish there was a way to reconcile. However, I have a feeling it might have been the tone & attitude from Sakhyu, which probably discomfited you. Thus, for Sakhyu, having another translator say she wasn’t being true to text and form. May have hurt her feelings. We must always take heed of our words and how we say them – in case we hurt someone unconciously. If that is the case, then I’m doubly sorry for the both of you.
A little bit of advice, your wording can be a little bit more precise as the prose sometimes has a double adjective in some cases I’ve seen, jarring the grammar in process. I wish I could sit down with you over the intricacies of English syntax, but alas I can’t…
Just be careful with your prose as it sometimes gets too wordy and some words don’t fit the meaning you’re trying to convey. I simply see too many grammar + spelling errors. Make sure to separate the wheat from the chaff as you first translate the page then go over it again for editing. Basic rule, go away for a couple of hours by taking a break. It truly does help. It amuses me, because you believe yourself to have an old-timey fogey-sense of grandma writing style.
I do not concur.
I find it to be youthful and slang-ish. There is nothing wrong with it, you just don’t have a lot of experience in writing yourself, yet. You need to practice writing and reading classical literature novels, because your English sometimes lacks strength and diversity.
I hope you’ll be able to share the workload with a fellow peer to help lighten the burden in tl-ing. I can simply only say, good luck.
PS. I hope I’m not stepping on any toes or encroaching in any respect. I’ve just been a literati for so long that it’s become second-hand to teach.
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I’ve had preexisting issues with her prior to taking in this novel which of course would put my initial decision to take on the translation in a bad light.
As for your thoughts on my language style, I will agree that I’m fairly out of practice at writing anything not restricted by a hard word limit where information density is the key to getting a good mark. Its moreso that than any failing in my choice of literature to consume.
Perhaps it’s a matter of perspective, as I’m translating from the side of a Chinese person who places the emphasis on preservation rather than adhering to the patchwork grammar rules of English.
Does it sound as polished as it could be? Of course not, but I don’t believe that it’s any distinct failing on our part; especially in comparison to others.
I apologize for coming off as defensive, but I do not appreciate the context that Sakhyu seems to have such a definitively better grasp on English than we do.
As before, I’d love any input you have that will help me improve, but its frustrating on my end to read such sweeping statements, while I’m left with nothing concrete to dissect.
I do appreciate your thoughts since they seem to come from a place of knowledge. In the end I am still a science student practicing writing and Chinese through this translation, with the heart to improve my own skills.
Am I making excuses? Perhaps. But only because I’ve made very purposeful decisions in regards to many of the sentences that read more poorly than they might’ve otherwise in order to preserve tone as best I am able.
I also hope that you don’t take this the wrong way. I’m not rebuffing everything you’ve said, moreso responding to a comment I think is worth responding to.
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Hey, do you mind dropping the condescension for a quick second? You lean incredibly hard on “youth” and that your supposed age and experience should excuse your smug arrogance. There’s no age where this sort of behavior is appropriate. Because honestly? You’re just being rude, and what seems to be on purpose as well. This isn’t concrit, this isn’t helpful editing advice, this is you being either socially unaware or a malicious asshole, jerking yourself off because you think you’re somehow better than the person doing the translation.
If you truly appreciate the work being done on this novel, try stepping off your soapbox and at least pretend to be a decent human being that wants to offer something of use.
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I read Sakh’s version, I read babelchain version, and I will read yours too! haha I will simply read it all!!
I’m not privy to all the drama, but personally, I know what Sakh’s schedule was like. Without laying the blame on anyone, I think it’s still great that your version exists. NU has filter group option exactly for this reason. If you don’t want to read one group’s work, you just filter them out.
Although I think waiting for three months is polite, that makes more sense if the translator was on a weekly or daily schedule before, and i.e. no one knows that they will come back a month or two months before from coma or sth, and continue daily/weekly again. If it’s always monthly, I think the ‘poaching’ rules hold little value.
Thank you for your work, I love YBY and LMC so much and can’t wait until they get together~
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Please keep updating! Sahkyu seems to have a busy life and can’t adequately give the proper attention to the novels she’s picked up. To be frank, she takes forever to update! I left her site for two months waiting for an update on this novel, and there was only one new chapter after months of waiting. Like seriously!!? Come on.
And I adore your translations, Syndethia. They look and read professionally smooth. Kudos for that!! Also, I believe as a grown adult who doesn’t speak chinese that your doing nothing wrong. No one is entitled to these unspoken rules about picking up novels even if it’s being translated by another author. Strength and quality speaks for itself, and people need to mind their own damn business. Because I’ve been burned by translators who say they care and then take months for a project to update. I’m not gonna say names, but /shrug. We know who they are.
Anyway, your translation is just as good as Sak’s and you can tell the care you put in the chapters you translate. Hope you stick around, kid. As a real life editor, you got mettle and quality.
Ps. Seriously, thank you for the quicker updates. I was literally dying. ^^/
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Hi there! As a translator myself, I’m really sorry that you’re getting hate for this project. I don’t agree with that. Personally, I feel the more translations the merrier! I know I started translating because I wanted to improve my language skills and I wanted to share this novel that I liked with others so we could talk about it together. I think most translators start out that way? I wouldn’t be upset if another person started translating “my” novel (“my” is in quotes because it’s technically not mine nor do I own the rights!). Isn’t it a good thing? It just shows that someone else loves the novel like I do. Maybe we could talk about it together!
It’s not like you’re plagiarizing their translation and claiming it for your own. This situation seems to me like it’s someone who did a cover of a song and then got mad at someone else for doing a cover of the same song. It’s all about people’s personal preferences. Just like some people like jazz covers and some people like rock, people will have their own preferred translation style. And that’s okay! I support you!
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And let’s all get along! ^_^
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Seconding that 3 month inactivity rule is bs. It’s a thing of the past. To everyone who’s complaining — go read from your translators that only post once a month, or even once every three months. You don’t have to read it here. Besides, who says who “owns” the right to translate? Unless you bought copyright, it’s fair game. Can you imagine if all novels only had 4 releases per year? Don’t you think that’s a little ridiculous? A three month inactivity rule would just allow that to happen.
Lastly, if you really love the novel and just want to translate for fun, why should it bother you if someone is releasing chapters faster than you? Sure it kind of sucks that your project is being taken away, but if someone can do it faster then shouldn’t you be happy more people can fan girl over it with you?
If you’re that upset, maybe your interests lie elsewhere. *cough obsession with page views*
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Lol that Avocado at the end ꉂ (ᕑᗢूᓫ∗). Really love his dedication to being a villain.
Hehe, thanks for translating this!
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ahhhhh! I’m so glad that you appreciate the avocado pun! I ended up consulting with 3 people for 30 minutes only to settle for this dumb pun hdbdhsjsn
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Just wanted to say – thanks for picking this up. I read the original translation and then dropped it because the translations were too slow. So hearing it’ll be done at 2/week (even if it’s just for summer?) is amazing.
I hope you won’t let the people talking about ‘underground NU rules’ or whatever get to you. I don’t know what happened exactly, but NU’s public rules are clear and you didn’t break any of those…
The three months is a ‘hidden’ thing for ‘respect’ that IMHO, no longer holds valid. It seems to only exist in the ‘community’ in order to protect various legacy people who enjoy picking up and hogging various projects despite being unable to release at a decent pace. I see nothing wrong with taking over a slow project if you can do it faster (and at a pretty decent quality), then why not?
If various people are unhappy about it, they can simply not read it. As a fellow translator, I think they should be jumping for joy that someone else picked up a project they liked rather than acting like a bitter, passive aggressive child. Keep up the good work, there are people rooting for you!
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So, what, if you are translating a project you love and someone else picks it up from where your last chapter, will you be happy about that? I doubt it very much.
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Did you ask permission to Sakhyulations to translate it? Cause, they never said they were dropping it 🤔
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I mostly started translating for myself and a group of friends tbh, and just decided to post on my blog as an easy way to archive it.
In any case, I’m not really intending to stop them from translating? Nor am I really in violation of any licensing. I’m purely doing this because I love the novel and want to share my version of it quickly so that I can have more people to scream with.
I went and checked the policies on NU after you mentioned though, and it seems fine as far as I know? Though if you’re more informed I’m happy to converse.
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Well, usually, if a group is translating a novel it’s super rude picking it up without asking, if they didn’t drop it. Only if they died/didn’t update for a lot of months you can, which isn’t the case here.
To be fair, I get your point, and yeah there is no license or whatever, but it’s the translating world underground rules that says that at least you have to ask permission to the group that’s actively translating it before posting it online.
You can translate it if you want, no one will stop you, just, maybe you should talk with Sakhyu and ask their opinion on it or if maybe they want a collaboration, or if they are fine with you posting another translation.
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I agree with Hotbananass. There is a pickup request rule of 3 months of inactivity on NUF. And that generally is honored out of respect and courtesy when adding releases that are not chapter 1 on NU. Is there a pickup request? No. Did the current translator quit or give permission for pick up? No. Did you start from chapter 1? No. Has the translator since chapter 1 been inactive for 3 months? No. The only thing that makes your release show up on NU is because the current translator has less than 30 releases for this novel. It’s decent courtesy to ask. If you’re just archiving and doing it for yourself and a group of friends, why put it on NU (aside from gaining more traffic)? You’re not violating any licensing or anything, but it’s rather rude not to ask if all the above was a no, don’t you think?
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to be fair, I did NOT in fact put it on NU. I was asleep when I the chapters got put on NU, so I’d appreciate if you guys didn’t immediately jump to conclusions. I went searching for how the NU bot functions and have yet to find a proper answer. Stop feeding into negativity.
Since it’s been brought to my attention that a) these chapters are on NU without my knowing it, b) sakhyu feels strongly about it c) a bunch of you readers seem to be up in arms for the sake of fan translations I was going to go and contact her about it once I was free.
I started translating out of impatience after there were no updates for a month, and even before that updates were slow.
As a person, I don’t mind you being spoken to like this, but my friend who is helping with these translations may be.
What I DO NOT appreciate is the lack of private communication from sakhyu before she directed all of you here.
These posts were never supposed to reach NU. I made a group submission to take up TVIFTB in the near future and perhaps the NU bot picked up on the Halo chapters.
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Sakhyu never directed us here. I just wrote of my own accord cause yes, I wanted to know what was hapening, and I don’t see how I can have offended you. Since it wasn’t you that put it on NU, fine, it can just be taken away from there, but mind me that my actions are of my own accord, and I wrote to you even before Sakhyu noticed, so please don’t think what I say is related to them in any way. It’s just related to me and what I think.
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In that case, we have both erred in our assumptions. My timeline of events goes approximately from nothing to suddenly everything all at once after I woke up.
Of course, I didn’t intend to come off as offended per say at you. Just irritated at the assumptions being made.
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I didn’t want to fight or anything, just know what was going on, and since you didn’t put it on NU there is not even a reason to fight. Just hope you will respect Sakhyu thoughts and reach an agreement with them on the NU thing and this whole double translation affair.
As I said at the start, no on can stop you to translate it, but you can at least talk with the group that’s doing it and see wht can be done.
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Hi… please don’t stop uploading your translation to NU 😦
I only check NU for updates and was happy to see this one updated.
You didn’t break any rules, that’s why your translations got posted on NU. I think the readers deserve 2x/week update you’d be able to provide.
Thanks for your hard work!
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lmao at YBY’s disappointment that he can’t fight. lmao at how much not a pushover the ML is either.
Also, it seems we have us some persistent cannon fodder to deal with later.
Thanks for the chapter!
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