There are many translations of NSHBA, but two main ones are
- Wuxiaworld
- LNMTL
Wuxiaworld is sometimes abbreviated WW. LNMTL represents the Raw machine translation of the original Chinese.
Also see Terminology to see how WW and LNMTL translate terms differently.
Below are some specific translation notes.
Forms of address[]
Other than just the common word for I, in Chinese, you can also call yourself different things to express different things. Here, ‘this lord' is 本座, is an arrogant and supreme way of referring to oneself. It is used by multiple characters. For example, when Shui Wuhen first appeared, she also called herself 本座 at the beginning, but she doesn't use it with Long Chen (unless he's being disrespectful and needs to be taught a lesson).
Another common appellation in this novel is 老子, which can mean your daddy. It is also an arrogant way to call oneself, but unlike 本座, it is much less dignified. So 本座 is something a respected sect leader would use, while 老子 is what a boss of a gang would use. 老子 is what Long Chen calls himself when he's being a poser, and the Dragonblood warriors may also use it depending on the time, and so did the person from the Heaven Splitting Divine Sect.
In this case, the Eastern Wasteland Bell referred to itself as 本座 when it first met Long Chen, but then it switched to 老夫, which might be translated as this old man.[1]
Zhuangbi and Niubi[]
In this novel, the terms 装逼 and 牛逼 are often used. They are considered vulgar language and are rather hard to translate. Here, they are talking about 装逼. If I pass it through my dictionary, I get ‘to act like a pretentious prick'. Generally, I translate it as bragging, pretentious, posturing/posing, being arrogant, or showing off. The reason why the women don't know what it means is because it's such a coarse and vulgar word. 牛逼 wasn't used here, but I just added it in so you know in the future. Sometimes the author will say there is a difference between 装逼 and 牛逼 (as you can see, the second character of the term is the same). The closest translation of 牛逼 would be something like ‘badass'.[2]
Boss, old man[]
The Heaven Splitting Divine Sect disciples are referring to themselves as 老子, which is the same way Long Chen refers to himself when he's being haughty. It is an arrogant way to refer to oneself. Sometimes it is translated as ‘I, your daddy'. There was an elder referred to as ‘old man'. He will continue to be referred to as the old man as a title. Old man is translated from 老头子, and is like the leader of a gang or another form of ‘boss' that the Dragonblood Legion calls Long Chen, except 老头子 would only be used for an elderly person.[3]