Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 400: Hidden in the Shadows (9)
A friend from the Mount Hua Sect blinked in astonishment.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips twitched slightly. Above Yu Hyeon’s head, the view of the forest stretched out in clear detail—nothing but a crude village, sparse trees, and the empty sky.
There was nothing obstructing his field of vision.
It was the difference in height between an adult and a youth.
Yu Hyeon, who had just unleashed his refined Plum Blossom Fist, awkwardly held out his fist.
Then, the young Taoist shrugged slightly, hesitating as if he wanted to point at Jeong Yeon-shin but wasn’t sure whether he should.
"It's you... right? It’s really you?"
"When are you going to grow?"
"The fact that you’re pissing me off confirms it! This is ridiculous!"
It was a rare reunion with a friend.
Seeing Yu Hyeon standing there in stunned disbelief stirred something within Jeong Yeon-shin.
A strange mix of satisfaction and amusement, yet at the same time, a subtle awareness of the difference in their fates.
Yu Hyeon was destined to live out his years as the Head of Mount Hua, while Jeong Yeon-shin had been born with time itself working against him.
It was an inferiority complex rooted as deeply as an ancient withered tree.
Jeong Yeon-shin looked down at his friend without betraying any emotion. Regardless of circumstances, he could still make Yu Hyeon flustered with just a glance.
They say that those who work with ink inevitably become stained. These days, indulging in the moment—like Tae Yeom-ryong—wasn’t all that difficult.
"You’ve become a Plum Blossom Swordmaster," Jeong Yeon-shin remarked.
The moment he sensed Yu Hyeon’s presence, he had briefly released a fraction of his Radiant Wheel Qi.
Only someone with exceptional sensory perception would have been able to detect it. As expected of the elite of Mount Hua, even stronger than the White Rank warriors of Ipwang Fortress.
"How did you already undergo Bone Renewal...? It is Bone Renewal, right?"
"It is."
"...One last confirmation. The day we first fought, when we crossed swords for the first time—you lost to me after just five moves. You remember that, right?"
"You must have spent a lot of time practicing your footwork in bed. Back then, you only lasted three..."
Jeong Yeon-shin’s words trailed off.
Yu Hyeon had suddenly closed the distance, using his now much stronger legs to approach. He lightly tapped Jeong Yeon-shin’s arm and shoulder with his fist.
His expression was far from the serene composure expected of a Daoist. His face was filled with utter disbelief.
"This—this wrist tendon, what the hell is this? Did you implant the sinew of some divine beast? And your radius bone, why is it so damn solid? If you generate Inner Strength and swing a sword with this body, just how strong would the Sword Force be...?"
"Stop touching me."
Jeong Yeon-shin’s expression hardened as he pulled away.
What the hell was he doing?
Yu Hyeon smirked and flicked a glance at his waist.
The Silver Thunder of the Divine Sword, with its resplendent silver gleam, was unmistakable. Yu Hyeon muttered to himself.
"What the hell is that?"
"Anyway, you’ve really become a big deal. The High Sword Immortal of Wudang personally descended. He was traveling with us when he suddenly sensed Yeoryeong Lord and Muryong Lord, and then—poof—he split into two bodies and vanished. It was Shadow Phantom Art, something I’d only ever heard about in stories."
Yu Hyeon rambled on.
Then—
Fwoosh.
One of the four Plum Blossom Swordmasters silently stepped forward, grabbing Yu Hyeon by the scruff of his neck and pulling him back. A reprimand, reminding him to maintain etiquette and discipline.
The remaining three raised their hands toward Jeong Yeon-shin in a formal salute.
The embroidered Plum Blossom at the ends of their white sleeves swayed gracefully as they moved.
A woman with a cold, commanding presence stepped forward.
"My junior disciple has acted discourteously. I am Yoo Hyang, a disciple of Mount Hua’s Grandmaster lineage and first-generation successor of our sect. You may consider me the representative of our group."
She appeared to be Yu Hyeon’s senior disciple.
Jeong Yeon-shin returned the gesture with a composed salute before subtly scanning his surroundings.
The village had already seemed hastily put together, but now it looked even more devastated.
A completely collapsed inn, bonfires reduced to smoldering embers, and dozens of warriors groaning and scattered across the ground.
Among them was the shaggy-haired youth—who, just moments ago, had denied any ties to Yeoryeong’s direct disciples.
"Haaah... haah..."
"My arm... my arm...!"
It was the work of the Plum Blossom Swordmasters.
It had all happened while Jeong Yeon-shin was briefly catching up with Yu Hyeon.
Their previous conversation had gone uninterrupted for a reason—Mount Hua’s Hidden Fragrance Marking was a stealth movement technique bordering on the level of divine arts.
"I congratulate you on your great achievement."
Yoo Hyang, the Plum Blossom Swordmaster, spoke.
Her attitude was unlike that of the typical Daoists Jeong Yeon-shin had encountered before.
Was word of his accomplishments beginning to spread across the martial world?
A hint of shock flickered in her eyes, something she could not completely hide.
"I sensed your Qi during the Martial Alliance Assembly. My junior disciple has one of the sharpest eyes and keenest senses among our sect’s disciples. You must be Ma Gwang-ik Lord himself."
This was why the Plum Blossom Swordmasters had chosen to leave Yu Hyeon alone.
Jeong Yeon-shin merely responded with a simple, "As expected of Hidden Fragrance Marking."
It wasn’t just polite formalities.
A sect’s true depth could not be hidden, no matter the disciple’s level of attainment.
"Hmm..."
The tension among the Mount Hua masters subtly eased.
Just a few years ago, twenty-four Plum Blossom Swordmasters had fought to a standstill against Ma Gwang-ik, the Demon of Naraksal.
Now, to be facing Ma Gwang-ik Lord himself—it was an overwhelming prospect, even for the swordsmen of a grand sect.
"This young man, no different from that old rebel Ban-ak... he’s the same boy who shook the entire Alliance?"
Yoo Hyang got straight to the point.
"The report that you triggered Mount Hua’s Pledge has been safely delivered to our Grandmaster. Our presence here is our answer."
Jeong Yeon-shin thought of Yulha Nangnang, the Holy Flame Sword God—a woman of supreme martial prowess and boundless wisdom.
She had refused.
"She is someone who has freed herself from worldly desires."
He still remembered it vividly.
The Radiant Purple Blade that could split heaven and earth.
Jeong Yeon-shin deeply respected her unmatched swordsmanship. Yet, something about it left him feeling unsettled.
How were they supposed to track down the Lord? This was only one of many villages.
"You’re telling me...?"
Yu Hyeon, now standing beside him, looked up with a confused expression.
At that moment, Yoo Hyang nodded.
"The promise of our predecessors must naturally be upheld. There will be an internal selection process for who we send. Unlike Ipwang Fortress, the orthodox sects lack a rigid hierarchy, so we must determine the qualifications for White, Blue, and Black Rank assignments."
"Ah."
"In the midst of this, your appointment of the Singgeom Squad Leader as Purple Rank stirred controversy. However, our sect has chosen to recognize it. The fact that the Divine Sword of Transcendence, once a symbol of the Righteous Way, has now been passed down to the Singgeom Squad Leader speaks for itself."
Mount Hua’s grandeur remained steadfast.
Even knowing that Jeong Yeon-shin had used them as chess pieces, they responded with dignity.
They had deployed their elite swordsmen to identify the opponent’s leader for the Duel of Honor.
"As expected of the orthodox sects."
Jeong Yeon-shin was beginning to understand his grandfather’s wisdom.
Then—
Rustle.
Yoo Hyang pulled out a document from her sleeve.
"Take a look at this. Their objective hasn’t been achieved as quickly as expected, which means we’ve gathered some key clues."
A yellowed parchment stained with pagoda tree flower dye.
It depicted a route stretching from northern Henan to Huguang, passing through Southern Zhili.
Dotted marks circled in succession along the path.
Jeong Yeon-shin and Yu Hyeon’s eyes widened.
"Huh? Senior Sister, when did you put this together?"
"Silence."
Yoo Hyang Master glanced at Jeong Yeon-shin.
Map-making was a grave crime forbidden by the imperial court. It was not something one would proudly display before a high-ranking figure of Ipwang Fortress.
But Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t care.
His long index finger pressed against the yellowed parchment.
“A formation descending from the northeast...”
“That was the problem,” Yoo Hyang Master responded. “Their formation... Even with my limited knowledge, I have never encountered one on such a scale. Destroying the formation pillars or even breaking through the formation itself is difficult. To dismantle something this vast in a short period and examine its core, we would need not one but several of our Mount Hua Swordmasters...”
She spoke of impossibility.
After all, Tian Zhu-jin, the Sword Hermit of Mount Hua, had attained the supreme level of Hidden Fragrance Body Flow. It was said that fewer than five people in Shaanxi could match blades with him.
But she didn’t get to finish her sentence.
Rumble—!
A faint thunderclap echoed from above.
It sounded like distant thunder, rolling in from the horizon.
“What...?!”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
As the Plum Blossom Swordmasters instinctively turned their heads, Jeong Yeon-shin, his Heavenly Vision Technique activated, saw far beyond the dense forest.
Figures bathed in ethereal light came into view—his allies, moving with unstoppable force.
Ak Su-rim’s spear ripped through the translucent barrier as if it were mere paper.
The Limitless Fist Lord crushed a massive tree with a single strike of his iron prosthetic leg.
Hahoe Wi-jin’s massive fist smashed into the ground, sending a deep fissure racing through the dirt.
And above them all—
High in the sky, Blood Extreme Phantom Bo Hyeol hovered with his hands clasped behind his back, pressing down on the spherical barrier beneath him.
The path was opening.
Before his very eyes, the battlefield was unfolding like a massive carpet.
***
The Singgeom Squad Leader, Yong Hui-myeong, was born in Chen Prefecture, Huguang Province.
He had no noble lineage. No parents.
That much, at least, was known to the world.
"A man without roots."
It was the contemptuous epithet given to the Singgeom Squad Leader.
And it was not entirely baseless. His past was no great mystery—countless unorthodox sects, wandering vagrants, and even some of the largest martial factions had scoured Chen Prefecture, seeking his weaknesses or some miraculous fortune tied to his birth.
Ever since he inherited the Sword of Transcendence, his homeland had been flooded with visitors. His village suffered under the weight of relentless intrusions.
It was the fate of every Singgeom Squad Leader throughout history.
Yong Hui-myeong was no exception.
Rumors claimed that when he was found as an infant, he had been lying atop shattered eggshells.
The villagers who raised him revered him as a divine being.
Whenever Yong Hui-myeong sat drinking by the lakeside, there were always reckless busybodies bold enough to ask the question—"Were you truly born from an egg, with no parents?"
And each time, he would smile vaguely and reply:
"I am a man."
It had become second nature to say it.
He had been strong from childhood.
With features more suited to a scholar, yet strength rivalling that of a giant.
An immeasurable tide of true energy had surged through his heart and middle Dantian since birth.
Whenever he played with the village children—whether swinging on a rope or flying a kite—something always ended up snapping. The other children would always reassure him, saying it was fine.
But none of them could ever meet his eyes on equal footing.
When he saw them off as they returned home, he was always left standing alone in the dusk.
The rumors were true.
His home had been the Temple of the Martial Sage. The villagers had worshiped him alongside the statue of Guan Yu, treating him as the guardian of their prosperity.
"So you’re the ghost that leeches off Guan Yu’s shrine?"
One day, a man in violet robes had appeared out of nowhere, looking down at him with an indifferent expression.
"I am no ghost. I am a man."
The young Yong Hui-myeong had answered Ma Yeon-jeok, the Blade Knight of the Righteous Path, without hesitation—never imagining that one day, he would think the exact opposite.
A Singgeom Squad Leader was meant to be something beyond human.
In a world filled with monstrous warriors and supernatural entities, their very existence had to be enough to protect the people.
"Yes. To them, I must be a ghost."
Just like the boy who had once lived beside the statue of Guan Yu in the Temple of the Martial Sage.
Yong Hui-myeong tilted his head slightly.
His childhood memories had flickered past like a life flashing before death.
Kwaaaah—!
A pale storm sliced past his ear.
It was the Blade Storm of an Emperor's Sword Form, a technique honed to its perfected state. A sharp sting spread along the back of his neck.
"Not bad."
Yong Hui-myeong spoke with feigned ease.
But his words carried no real meaning.
Behind him, five or six massive trees had been shredded to pieces by the sheer force of the sword wind.
A thick cloud of dust rose into the air, curling around his bare foot.
The entire battlefield had been obliterated.
The once-dense forest had been leveled into an open plain.
Hundreds of corpses, each cleaved cleanly in half, lay scattered across the ground, slowly vanishing beneath the drifting dust.
Yet the Singgeom Squad Leader's violet battle robe fluttered playfully, mocking his enemies.
Only the young warrior in blue, coughing up blood beside him, served as evidence of the battle’s overwhelming one-sidedness.
It was the result of over a thousand rounds of combat in the Rotary Formation.
The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan stared at him in silence before suddenly jerking his chin toward someone in the distance.
A gaunt middle-aged man stiffened and hesitantly spoke.
"A-Ah! There’s been no movement yet! This is the Rotary Formation that the Lord of Yeoryeong personally devised, after all!"
The man was Autumn Seeker Jin, known as The Venomous Scholar.
One of the five strongest warriors in Yeoryeong.
A man whose shabby appearance and unimpressive speech often led to underestimation, yet he had never failed to accomplish his goals.
He was a master of pursuit techniques and had an extraordinary talent for extending his Qi perception.
Not once had he lost track of the Singgeom Squad Leader's movements.
His success was the result of Nine Continents Grand Knowledge Divine Art, a technique he had refined to its ultimate state.
Hee, heehee.
A twisted smile formed on his lips.
Perhaps he believed he had secured the greatest merit in slaying the Singgeom Squad Leader.
Meanwhile, Shingeom Squad Vice Leader Yeon So-ha clenched her teeth, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Like a damn rat..."
But The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan paid no attention to a mere Blue Rank warrior.
He slowly opened his mouth and addressed Yong Hui-myeong.
"Ipwang Fortress seems to trust you very much. Even in this state, they have yet to send reinforcements."
Yong Hui-myeong smirked.
"Annoying."
The Singgeom Squad Leader muttered under his breath.
He meant it.
From Peng Clan to this very place, the number of martial masters he had slain easily exceeded a thousand. The Scattering Toxin, which disrupted the concentration of true energy, was slowly creeping toward his heart.
If only he had the time to properly regulate his energy, it wouldn’t be a problem. But the Heaven’s Entrapment Formation, meticulously crafted by Yeoryeong Lord, hadn’t even allowed him proper sleep.
"Will the Singgeom Squad Leader of Ipwang Fortress swim across the River of Three Paths, or will he board the boat with grace?"
Autumn Seeker Jin's smirk deepened.
The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan tilted his sword under the sunlight, reflecting the glare back and forth.
"You seem to have rested enough. Let’s cross blades again. This time, I shall demonstrate Moon Dance of the Emperor’s Sword."
"I thought the Namgung Clan didn’t have a Moon Dance? Weren’t you struggling just to maintain the domain of your Imperial Sword Forms?"
Yong Hui-myeong frowned as he spoke. The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan shook his head and lowered the blade of his family’s treasured sword.
"That was before {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} I gained enlightenment. The Murong Society pursues absolute martial perfection. After witnessing the swordplay of a friend—the Blue Mist Sword from Ipwang Fortress—I was able to grasp the final piece of my understanding. I was so overjoyed that, for the first time, I spared an Ipwang warrior’s life."
Thump—
A pulse echoed through the air.
An unseen force began to fill the desolate forest.
"It is called Moonlight Spilling Over the Sword at Night (劍夜塗月光)."
The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan spoke quietly.
At that moment, Yong Hui-myeong’s violet battle robe slipped from his shoulders on its own.
"Yeon So-ha. So-ha."
"Yes?"
"Take this and step back. It will serve as a solid protective barrier for you—just this once. Take it."
"You said I was fifty years too early for this."
Though Yeon So-ha grumbled, she subtly moved to the side.
Under normal circumstances, the Squad Leader would have handed over the robe using Telekinetic Manipulation.
But now, he didn’t seem capable of it.
Was it because his inner energy circulation wasn’t functioning as he wished? Or was he wary of both The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan and the Dark Night Lord, who was aiming at him from ten li away with Ten Ri One Kill?
In truth, the Dark Night Lord’s arrows, fired intermittently throughout the battle, were like artillery shells.
It was then—
Autumn Seeker Jin’s expression changed.
He was the central axis of the Heaven’s Entrapment Formation.
Entrusted by Yeoryeong Lord, he could sense every formation, mechanism, and trap within it through his supreme techniques.
"Greatest Sword of Namgung! Greatest Sword of Namgung...!"
"What is it?"
"Something... something is approaching from ten li away...!"
"Ten li?"
The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan slightly tilted his head.
But Autumn Seeker Jin wasn’t looking at him anymore.
His usual careless manner had unconsciously turned solemn, and his heightened senses ignited with an explosive intensity.
Boom—
It began like that.
A distant sound, like someone lightly striking a drum.
Autumn Seeker Jin’s mouth fell open. His dazed voice spilled out.
"The Twelfth Village... Murong Society’s Eight Celestial Soul Formation... breached... a direct path...!"
"What did you just say?"
The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan’s question was met with an even louder explosion.
Kuung—!
"The Fourteenth Village... the Heavenly Killing Old Monster of Taemu Mountain Fortress... annihilated...!"
Autumn Seeker Jin muttered as if exhaling his very soul.
Something was approaching at the speed of light.
Something tremendous.
Something that felt more like a force of nature than a person.
By then, even the supreme masters who had restricted their senses to their immediate surroundings—
Even Yeon So-ha, who was suffering from serious internal injuries—
Had all begun to feel the presence looming from beyond.
Kugung—! Kwakwakwakwa—!
The ground trembled violently.
A distant thunderstorm roared, refusing to cease.
It shook the very vision of those present, rumbling ever closer.
It grew more intense by the second.
Autumn Seeker Jin stopped speaking.
Even when the Whirlwind of Energy Waves, which resembled the Milky Way, crushed the sword formation of Eighteen Martial Sects under Yeoryeong, he remained silent.
Even when, at the Sixteenth Village, a single figure leaped through the overlapping artillery fire of the Ten Ri Radiant Fortress, he didn’t utter a word.
Even when that figure finally reached the Seventeenth Village, where a Thunderbolt Formation had been laid out in a perfect circle—only to completely engulf it with an even more terrifying storm of palm techniques—he still did not speak.
Kuguguguguung—!
The very ground trembled.
Autumn Seeker Jin quickly turned his head.
He saw a young warrior in blue.
A mere youth, holding onto the rare Violet Battle Robe—Ipwang Fortress’s most prized symbol.
A look of confusion mixed with subtle anticipation flickered in the youth’s eyes.
"That child is the future of Ipwang Fortress..."
"No matter what variables arise, that one must die."
"The current Squad Leader... he can be dealt with somehow."
Bang!
Dust exploded behind Autumn Seeker Jin’s heel.
His body flickered, his movement technique distorting reality itself.
At the same time, the Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan lifted his blade in sync.
An invisible sword force surged, stretching toward the sky.
Far away, the Dark Night Lord was likely drawing his bow, about to unleash Ten Ri One Kill—the greatest arrow technique under heaven.
A convergence of peerless masters had locked onto Yong Hui-myeong.
"Wear it!"
The Singgeom Squad Leader shouted, so desperate that he used Ninefold Voice Technique.
"That’s fine too."
Autumn Seeker Jin’s crescent-shaped eyes curved with satisfaction.
The thought of ripping apart the Violet Battle Robe—the sacred emblem of Ipwang Fortress—with his own hands filled him with glee.
That alone would be a legendary feat in the martial world.
He activated his Supreme Protective Energy, his hand reaching forward.
At the very end of his attack was Yeon So-ha, who had yet to fully don the Violet Battle Robe.
Autumn Seeker Jin’s fingertips sharpened like claws, unleashing Energy Surge to pierce directly through her heart.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
"It’s over—"
And then.
For the first time.
A streak of light flashed across the sky.
The ceaseless sunlight warped in an instant.
Autumn Seeker Jin, who had been lunging toward Yeon So-ha like an arrow, abruptly shifted his gaze.
A translucent barrier was racing toward him.
It was the Emperor’s Sword Domain deployed by The Greatest Sword of the Namgung Clan, standing only a few steps away.
It was powerful enough to surpass most protective techniques.
Time fragmented into endless slivers.
Relief washed over Autumn Seeker Jin’s face.
And then.
A single silver streak etched itself across his face.
A beam of brilliant silver light.
"...?"
A deafening explosion erupted beneath his feet.
The backlash rattled his very bones.
A single silver sword had embedded itself vertically through his body, splitting him from crown to groin.
Hwaaaaa—!
The backlash of Sword Control Beyond Self sent a violent gust roaring through the battlefield.
The bisected halves of Autumn Seeker Jin’s body flipped into the air and collapsed.
And in his fading vision—
A young man with long hair stepped onto the battlefield.
The violet battle robe, caught in the whirlwind, drifted softly—
And settled over the shoulders of the black-robed youth.
