Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

This martial match was special. The rank differences were extreme. Except for four people, all were veteran masters.

They were all of status to give teachings to rising talents. The bloody battle had a strange appearance.

It meant a rising talent’s forfeit after experiencing life-and-death matches here at least once was not a flaw.

That was Flourishing Spirit Flower Master Namgung Mi’s calculation.

However.

At this moment.

The sister who used petty tricks has her head fall.

The whole world approached like a slug.

The Desolate sword brushing past Namgung Mi’s body, the neck without even blood forming, the body losing balance in an instant and collapsing… the horrific scene embedded slowly.

Though those who entered the fight were Lightning Genius and his sister.

Azure Qilin Namgung Se-jin.

The Namgung family young master thought. That this too could happen.

He didn’t stop it before the martial matches. It wasn’t possible. Two martial sects counted among the finest in the murim had agreed to life-and-death matches.

If it wasn’t a confrontation with extreme rank differences, it was a martial match where honor took precedence over life.

Fighting Lightning Genius or White Qilin.

For Namgung Mi it was all or nothing.

She was the one who proposed consecutive victory format life-and-death matches starting from the youngest.

If she couldn’t cut down Lightning Genius and White Qilin, Namgung Mi herself would die. She must have known this too. Though she wouldn’t have imagined her own defeat.

‘So it goes.’

The cold blade of the murim fell. Flourishing Spirit Flower Master couldn’t handle Lightning Genius’ sword. So, now she was dead.

It was the result of a life-and-death match. Those densely surrounding the rising mountain ranges must have known it was a duel to the death.

However, Flourishing Spirit Flower Master Namgung Mi was the direct bloodline of Namgung under heaven as one of the Nine Phoenixes of the murim. No one would have known her head would fall in one sword strike.

The countless gathered heroes were right to be silently quiet.

“……”

The young master too was prepared.

It was the murim. Death comes suddenly. Even blind swords approaching with death were not rare.

But was it because he was not a good brother? Or because it was harder to bear seeing his sister’s death?

The young master suddenly turned his gaze to his father standing beside him.

The master of the Namgung house.

He was a stern cold-blooded family head. None in the family could approach him.

When Namgung Hwa-shin tried to leave the main house, he ordered Sword Night assassins to kill the illegitimate son.

His face now was the same as then. His expression just slightly hardened.

“Young master.”

The Namgung Family Head spoke.

“Prepare.”

“…Yes.”

His father’s words were concise as always.

He was a crafty hero who watched Lightning Genius’ abilities and Blood Flame Sect’s behavior. He made even his own conscience and children’s lives into cornerstones for the family.

The young master’s life was handled the same way. He couldn’t escape the path defined by his father’s will.

Helping Namgung Hwa-shin leave home was what the young master himself counted as his life’s achievement.

“This unworthy son will go.”

The young master said.

The Family Head didn’t answer. He just slightly nodded his thick neck.

After Flourishing Spirit Flower Master was the young master’s turn. He received his inhuman father’s calm gaze on his back.

The young master slowly took a step. Toward the boy standing without even disturbed breathing, Lightning Genius.

Lightning Genius Jeong Yeon-shin stood calmly with two swords at his waist.

His robe similar in color to the Namgung family’s blue martial clothes fluttered with a faint bloody fragrance.

‘How bold.’

The young master thought.

He envied the appearance of Jeong Yeon-shin with his head slightly bowed. He had told that boy before.

That like the Hwangbo family’s Lazy Flame Dragon, he wanted freedom.

Lightning Genius already had it. His warrior’s bearing displaying excellence at a young age was dazzling. He seemed to shine brighter than anything under heaven.

The young master took a step. To compare martial arts with the boy.

STEP.

Only then.

Words began flowing from the Namgung family’s side. Commentary on the martial match started emerging on the spot.

Though some maintained silence with solemn expressions, it was because there were many in the great family murim watching for opportunities.

“Flourishing Spirit Flower Master…”

“How could this be? She stepped the Unhindered Azure Flow Divine Steps precisely.”

“Strange footwork. The sword technique was quite destructive too.”

Some family members whispered with bewildered faces. They were mainly young men of the branch families.

The number of branch family members was overwhelming. Compared to the direct bloodline limited to the current Family Head’s descendants.

The Namgung family was very large. There were even more who didn’t care about Namgung Mi’s death.

Restrain speech since direct bloodline members were present? It wasn’t so.

It was because the shock delivered by Desolate Fortress’ Lightning Genius was so intense. To the Namgung family members, Namgung Mi was like noble royalty.

“Never thought she would fall so pointlessly.”

“Pointless? Her eye technique achievement seems insufficient. It was a lifelong technique sequence. Lightning Genius’ accumulated life achievements were more intense than the young lady’s.”

“Truly strong. Worthy to be Desolate Fortress’ representative.”

“But can he match the young master’s sword? How many at that age could cultivate Emperor Sword Form to that extent.”

Their talk reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s ears too. It was because he had raised Jeong family Dynamic technique to the extreme.

His heightened senses wouldn’t easily subside. It felt very good. This was how it should be.

‘Strong.’

It was because of the young master. Now he walked toward him with upright posture.

His energy that had spread like mist now seemed to converge and extend like a sword blade. It was materialized momentum. A feeling like his skin was splitting gave him goosebumps.

Hard to say this was someone who traveled the murim briefly with him. Not the destined master of a great family either.

A swordsman who honed his skills to the peak. Now it would be right to say he was an opponent more than worthy.

The two faced each other at ten steps’ distance.

“About my younger sister Mii.”

The young master opened his mouth.

“I won’t particularly speak of it. Though a lacking child, she met quite an admirable end as a warrior… that’s enough.”

“……”

“You and I… one of us, or perhaps both, might die. This is a place with the end of life at stake. This fight. I don’t consider it a dispute between Namgung and Desolate Fortress. It’s a life-and-death match. If I die, I don’t want to close my eyes as a chess piece.”

Then.

A hearty smile lay on the handsome man’s face with kind features.

“I lived peacefully in Namgung’s shadow my whole life. Though it sounds like complaining on a full stomach, it was shackles.”

“Indeed it was.”

At Jeong Yeon-shin’s short reply, his smile deepened.

“Even so, I wanted to break free once. They say there are cases of feeling freedom in the gap between life and death, though I’m still curious if it’s really so. I especially want to experience it now. Is it possible with Desolate Fortress Lightning Genius’ capacity?”

It was a provocative question.

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t answer. He had to draw his sword again. This time too he gripped the Desolate sword’s handle.

He was always like this before major battles. Though the Northern Light sword was said to be famous, it wasn’t as familiar in his hand as the Desolate sword.

“……”

The clash between Desolate Fortress and Namgung. Perhaps because the weight of major sects’ life-and-death match approached greatly with Namgung Mi’s death?

The crowds surrounding Clear Night Valley still kept their mouths closed. Occasionally, only fierce valley winds blew.

Amid that the two people’s energy waves became dense.

The young master withdrew his smile.

“Let’s begin.”

“Yes.”

There was no such thing as a referee. It was a world of masters.

SWOOSH.

The two drew swords simultaneously.

A dry wind played with their hair once and passed. Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly felt it.

‘Timing, he spread the sword’s domain widely.’

It was a sensation like a breeze sweeping his skin. It arose the moment the young master drew his magnificent precious sword.

It was an extremely sharp momentum. It gave him goosebumps as if an invisible forest of swords had risen.

Emperor Sword Form. From the start it was supreme martial arts.

It seemed like his upper dantian intuition was ringing alarm bells in his mind. Jeong Yeon-shin immediately knew. If the young master struck now, there was no way to evade.

His body instantly became heavy. Even standing was difficult. It felt like the air wrapping his whole body had transformed into thousand-jin weight.

[TL Note- Thousand Jin = 600Kg/1322 Pound]

‘Will it work again?’

He recalled the second Radiant Wing Step. Radiant Wing Step. It was footwork that drove out released energy. It had excellently sealed Namgung Mi’s movement technique energy.

Could it break through Emperor Sword Form too? It was an issue he had worried about before the martial match. He couldn’t find any other method besides Radiant Wing Step.

Even as he pondered, the young master was approaching step by step. It seemed he couldn’t use lightness techniques while displaying Emperor Sword Form.

‘Let’s clash.’

Jeong Yeon-shin changed his mind. Schemes? They didn’t suit unique sect martial arts’ nature. Lightning Genius was a warrior led by instinct.

He had survived all fights with faster than expected insight. He decided to clash immediately.

SWISH.

He had to use his whole body’s muscles to take a small step. If not for his body trained with Jeong family dynamic technique, he couldn’t have moved at all.

THUD!

Dust rose with one step. Simultaneously the load hanging on his whole body considerably eased. The implications were big.

It meant he had to take all movements in this fight with Radiant Wing Step footwork.

SWISH!

How sensitive was his energy sense?

The young master wasn’t surprised. As if he expected it, he struck down his sword with an indifferent face.

Could he adjust Emperor Sword Form freely like breathing? As Jeong Yeon-shin got faster, the young master’s strike also became swift.

CLANG!

Jeong Yeon-shin almost furrowed his brows. He immediately spread Fate Defying Scripture true qi layering. It was his right arm.

The sword force that would have bisected him as it pressed down stopped. Tremendous vibrations seemed to shake even the blood vessels in his grip. It was sword force he had never experienced.

‘So it’s this level.’

Jeong Yeon-shin calculated in the realm of sensation.

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

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If one strike was this heavy, how to apply true qi layering, which direction to step Radiant Wing Step, how to properly counterattack.

From then it was selfless absorption. It started rapidly.

Two streams of sword paths tangled like chaos. Every movement extending sword blades was heavy. Heavy sword. It was a fight taking place in a heavy realm.

BOOM! CLANG! CLANG!

Sword energy splashing and soaring in all directions was like sparks. Jeong Yeon-shin’s Radiant Sword Style was brilliant.

It was sword techniques that even disturbed vision by constantly spraying hazy light streams.

He made the Will Chamber point supporting his spine the foundation of Fate Defying Scripture. He handled relatively lacking power with fluid true qi layering.

BOOM!

He made up for lacking weight by stepping supreme footwork on the spot.

The moment the young master’s sword brushed his cheek, Jeong Yeon-shin stepped in once more.

He went in unhesitatingly while gripping the Desolate sword beside his face with raised arms. Sword clashed with sword and scraped.

Fierce friction sounds rang as if sparks would fly right beside his right cheek.

‘Here.’

It was the moment Jeong Yeon-shin released his left hand. Force was added to the young master’s precious sword.

Just like that while pushing back Jeong Yeon-shin with the sword, he himself also spun half a circle.

Rising movement technique energy was properly embedded. The principles of martial arts dwelling in his movements were accomplished.

‘Again.’

This was the kind of fight it was.

The young master thoroughly maintained distance. He didn’t approach more than necessary.

When it seemed the boy was gathering energy, he immediately thrust a checking strike.

He seemed wary of the incomplete palm technique Jeong Yeon-shin had deliberately shown before. The boy suddenly opened his mouth.

“Speaking of freedom when you’re like this?”

“Hmm?”

“Your fighting style is like that. Being bound by some method is stifling.”

“Quite good provocation.”

The young master smirked. He didn’t appear to have newly realized something.

However his sword bearing changed.

WHOOSH–!

The widely spread Emperor Sword Form’s domain narrowed into a storm.

The compressed energy waves centered on the young master’s precious sword were very heavy. It felt like changing from wide-area martial arts to person-killing techniques.

Commanding momentum.

Ordering the sword.

Though not of the Forbidden City’s Zhu family, it was sword bearing displaying majesty like an emperor. Sword techniques extended unhesitatingly.

BANG!

The impact was different from the start. It tremendously stimulated his right hand gripping the sword.

While even the Desolate sword’s blade seemed about to break from shaking, Jeong Yeon-shin was helplessly pushed back. And he realized. That finally the moment for phase transition had come.

He readied his left hand. He raised Demon Destroying Azure Unyielding Palm and Demon Roaring Blood Art simultaneously.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt energy waves indiscriminately extending from his body. The young master couldn’t help but detect it.

BOOM!

Indeed it was so. Along with heavy supreme footwork, the young master’s body rushed in a straight line. He suddenly grew larger before his eyes. The Namgung family precious sword wrapped in energy storm winds was with him.

Jeong Yeon-shin strongly used Radiant Wing Step toward the extending sword. The young master also knew this footwork’s effectiveness.

He seemed to try protecting sword force. The precious sword’s trajectory twisted.

That was the instant.

Jeong Yeon-shin dug into the gap. He passed to the outside. It was the first Radiat Wing Step, Phantom Wing First Step. It was a footstep that threw open timing.

He raised his left hand. Blood technique and Buddhist power energy were surging.

Even gathering into technique formation was problematic. It took time to draw out as one complete palm technique.

‘Doesn’t matter.’

He extended just like that. He slightly moved his hand over the young master’s blade passing to the side. It was movement as if playing with Emperor Sword Form.

The reality was different. The upper dantian in Jeong Yeon-shin’s mind was burning. He endlessly adjusted his left hand’s angle.

Blood technique and Buddhist power energy were being refined into imperial internal energy. It was an instant. He adjusted his palm technique with the young master’s tremendous energy waves.

SWOOSH–!

It was right after reversely riding Emperor Sword Form’s momentum. Experience whirled from the center of Jeong Yeon-shin’s palm.

It converged to the extreme point truly quickly. He instantly skipped one process of palm technique activation.

“Hup!”

The young master immediately turned around. Surprisingly swift movement hastened the collision.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s Desolate sword flew at the rotating sword strike. The vibrations ringing in his grip were very large.

Jeong Yeon-shin went in without minding. He extended his hand to the young master’s side.

Just like that he activated the palm technique.

BOOM–!

It burst at two steps’ distance. For a moment it seemed Clear Night Valley shook.

It even created long-lasting echoes unable to endure the tremendous explosion.

His ears buzzed. Jeong Yeon-shin stepped back feeling extreme recoil.

If a thunderbolt exploded in his left hand, it would be like this. He had trained with high-grade spirit pills together with the Seventh Apostle.

The power was drastically different from when he competed with Namgung Hwa-shin.

That’s when.

UAAAA―!

Screams rang out from the Namgung family side behind Jeong Yeon-shin who had picked up his sword.

It wasn’t just one or two. They seemed to be veteran-ranked masters with better eye techniques than the boy.

Soon Jeong Yeon-shin could see too.

“……”

He closed his mouth. He had to.

The side of his waist was gone and missing. Not even blood dropped.

It was a fatal wound. It was strange he was even standing straight.

Was the divine energy of Emperor Divine Technique protecting his body? For a moment Jeong Yeon-shin forgot his own martial arts in his mind.

The young master’s divine might and will were amazing. It would be hard to exist without reaching another realm in this moment.

That’s when it happened.

“Stop!”

The young master shouted. Light shone from his incomparably Azure eyes.

He took in at a glance the Namgung family masters rushing toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

His virtue was different from Namgung Mi’s. Many had tried to kill Jeong Yeon-shin while disregarding even the martial match agreement.

Azure Qilin Namgung Se-jin opened his mouth again.

“Though my movements were restricted by the shell of young master.”

A long breath continued.

“The end of warrior Namgung Se-jin… I will decide.”

“……”

Namgung Se-jin truly released spirit like one possessed. While all present were silent, he slowly continued speaking.

“Do not sully my death.”

Then he slowly turned just his eyes. Eyes emitting spirit light gazed at his final opponent in life.

“What is the technique’s name?”

Jeong Yeon-shin comprehended his question. He immediately parted his lips.

“It has none.”

“That’s fortunate. I have a technique name in mind.”

“Please speak.”

“Shall I call it Brilliant River? Before my eyes now the river of the three paths seems to spread, burning so very brightly. Perhaps because my heart is glad. The character ‘奐’ for brilliant meaning to emit radiance seems fitting.”

[TL Note- 奐 means Radiant/Brilliant]

“……”

“It will become martial arts discussed as foremost in the murim. That’s how it feels. Will you use the name I gave?”

“Eternal Blossom Fist, Brilliant River. I will say so if anyone asks.”

Jeong Yeon-shin answered calmly.

“Good…”

“You seem to want it widely known, but I too must roam the entire murim. My innate nature is such. I cannot do otherwise.”

The boy’s words grew longer.

Perhaps the clumsy consolation touched him. Namgung Se-jin smiled hazily.

“Yes… do so. Completely freely…”

Jeong Yeon-shin thought. That he couldn’t know what inner turmoil Azure Qilin had experienced living as young master.

At the very end.

Reaching life’s end, he did not look at his family members.

He died as one walking the martial path. He took in fully with his eyes the warrior Lightning Genius who defeated him.

His thread-like breath gradually grew thinner, then scattered without a trace.Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

Slowly.

He stopped breathing with eyes open. Only his pupils flickered with powerfully remaining internal energy.

“……”

Namgung Se-jin’s death delivered deep resonance to Jeong Yeon-shin too.

Besides lifespan, what else should he pursue? As a martial artist, was life his only banner?

Azure Qilin who had stood firmly planted on the earth slowly collapsed.

THUMP!

“He’s… dead?”

“The young master, the young master!”

“Quickly… quickly!”

“Move! Urgent! Urgent!”

It became chaotic in an instant.

Thunder-like sounds rang out. Enormous crowds began leaving Clear Night Valley.

All sorts of messenger birds flapped their wings and flew up from everywhere. The weight of Flourishing Spirit Flower Master and Namgung young master was markedly different. The murim’s landscape would be overturned.

It was a place with all the murim’s attention focused.

Jeong Yeon-shin who regretted not being able to support Namgung Se-jin stood as victor.

While wind swept in with the festival of energy waves bursting in all directions, the boy silently faced the strong winds while gripping his lowered sword.

The golden characters for “Desolate” beside his shoulder shimmered in the sunlight.

The rushing valley winds repeatedly lifted his blue robe hems.

It was the moment the title Lightning Genius was engraved in the Nine Provinces under heaven.

Fame.

The beginning wasn’t far. Jeong Yeon-shin had to feel it immediately the moment he turned his head.