Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 384: The World (8)
The Master of Jongeom Sect shut his mouth and stepped back, his retreating footsteps echoing hollowly in the air.
Gone was the forceful presence he had displayed earlier when speaking of divine decree to Jeong Yeon-shin.
Hundreds of martial masters who had formed the Heaven’s Entrapment stood silent. Even the gathered crowd on the mountain slopes remained hushed.
Unhoe Peak was the tallest peak in the vicinity.
If the banners used for ceremonies were grand enough, they were visible to everyone.
And now, standing at the edge of the hill, figures had suddenly descended and were walking slowly.
Their identities.
The impact of their gathering on the martial world’s power balance.
Letters should have been sent out immediately by the various sects, trade guilds, and escort bureaus.
Just as they had done when the duel between Ma Gwang-ik and the Master of Ten Battles Sect had reached its conclusion.
Yet, no one moved hastily. Rather, it was more accurate to say they could not.
Whiii—
A young man in a black longcoat whistled. He passed by the banner of the Heavenly Dragon Division of the Society of Sacred Swords.
His sharply defined jawline brushed against the characters for Heavenly Dragon.
“The commotion in the Qi Sect was no joke... and now I see an unfamiliar junior already dealing with the Thirteen Heavens. My apologies.”
He spoke.
“This is clearly beyond the level of martial arts you could gauge. Still, I see that the rabble of the martial world behave the same, even in Sichuan.”
A middle-aged man, also dressed in flowing black robes, replied. He was walking past the Mugeuk Battle Hall banner.
A metallic clank rang out repeatedly from one of his legs. It seemed he was wearing a prosthetic limb, something that only those with vast internal energy could endure.
“I see that you’ve become quite refined, Mugeuk-hyung. I heard your Squad was promoted to a Hall.”
“The numbers just increased, that’s all.”
“You always were good at teaching. It should make for an interesting match against Seomye’s martial lineage. These days, people say the true masters reside only in Seomye or Mugeuk.”
This was no idle chatter.
Saaaa—
The motionless thicket, previously trapped by an overwhelming presence, rustled as if a gentle breeze had passed through.
It was the invisible current of internal energy diffusing from their words.
By pushing aside the oppressive Heaven’s Entrapment aura that had seized the hill, they were securing complete freedom of movement. It was akin to how a swordsman, right before drawing their blade, would expand their Sword Domain.
[You... Society of Sacred Swords? What in the world is happening...?]
The first to speak was the Master of Ten Battles Sect. A supreme martial artist, the leader of a sect, had suffered a crushing defeat earlier today—and now he was witnessing something no one had foreseen.
For a brief moment, the two Manifestations of Empty Moon Dance flickered and blurred. His composure had been utterly shattered.
[Unless the Leader of the Society of Sacred Swords has lost his mind...!]
“Oh? Great General, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? About nine years? Last time we met was at the Forbidden City when I was still in Blue Rank, and now here...”
The Heavenly Dragon Division Leader smirked.
His gaze was different. He was examining the Master of Ten Battles Sect from head to toe with a strange look.
“Huh? The Heavenly God Armor is completely wrecked! Wasn’t that armor something you risked your life to steal from the War Deity beyond the Great Wall? You seemed so pleased, thinking you had gained an extra life, but now it seems the so-called Cure-All of the Martial World has finally taken a trip to the afterlife.”
[This bastard... who couldn't even meet my gaze in the North...]
“To think that even after executing your revered Empty Moon Dance, you only managed to take down three men! And with your Heavenly God Armor in that state, even moving must be difficult—yet you were standing here, bragging in front of the youngest powerhouse of this land? You must have put too much faith in the Heaven’s Entrapment trap woven by the dregs of the martial world and the Lord of the Golden Dawn Sect.”
The more he spoke, the more his tone lost its highs and lows.
His mockingly polite speech naturally shifted to casual condescension.
And as his words continued, the Heaven’s Entrapment martial masters standing nearby unconsciously stepped back, an oppressive presence leaking from his black robes.
A circle of dust began to swirl at his feet.
His expression—a face known in the Northern martial world as the Grim Reaper.
His icy fury had been evident from the moment he first spoke playfully.
Several senior warriors from the Seventeenth Generation of the Society of Sacred Swords had also locked eyes with Jeong Yeon-shin.
“......”
Aksurim, standing with his silver spear resting against his back.
Yun So-yu of the Yullyeong Division, unsheathing her sword between the flowing folds of her jet-black robes.
Boom—!
Ha Hoo-wi-jin, Leader of the Cheonrim Division, clenched his massive fists, sending out a colorless shockwave of force.
And Cheon So-so, Leader of Seonmokryeong Stronghold, exhaled a misty iridescent chill that spread like fine silk.
They did not speak.
It was clear they believed dealing with the immediate situation came first. Such was the temperament of Ipwang Fortress.
[I need to recover my energy. Buy me time.]
Three of the Masters of Ten Battles Sect quietly disappeared into the crowd. Their movements were on an unparalleled level.
Even amidst intense battle, supreme martial artists could stabilize internal injuries with just a few controlled breaths. They had no need to sit in meditation—standing yun-gong sufficed.
The Heaven’s Entrapment martial masters' eyes glowed coldly.
“They can’t all be Division Leaders of the Society of Sacred Swords! Ipwang Fortress isn’t that kind of faction!”
“That’s true. A change of clothes means nothing.”
“But their energy is...”
“Attack! Take down the outer ranks first!”
The sound of weapons being drawn rang out loudly.
There were at least several hundred of them.
Their combined Qi Force swelled and surged, covering the hill of Unhoe Peak like a dense white fog.
They were the combined force of the Thirteen Heavens, their subordinate sects, and a myriad of wandering martial artists—an army woven into Heaven’s Entrapment.
Kugugung—!
The sunset-drenched sky began to distort.
The very air trembled, as if rippling under intense heat.
A force capable of slaughtering even the strongest warriors under the heavens.
The Society of Sacred Swords Division Leaders each took up different stances.
“Ten Battles Sect, Sunmaryeon, Golden Dawn Sect... and even the Order of Fallen Swords... All of you gathered here. That makes things easier.”
“We can’t forget the agents of Yeo Ryeong either. And be mindful—Ten Battles Sect’s elite armor disrupts Internal Martial Techniques.”
“Leave the Order of Fallen Swords swordsmen to me. I spent some time in Shaanxi recently, so their sword paths are as clear as day to me.”
“Really...? If you return to headquarters, I suggest reading The Compendium of Annihilation.”
“The Compendium of what? What’s that supposed to be?”
BOOM—!
Centered around each Heaven’s Entrapment banner, powerful waves of Qi Force detonated.
The battle had begun.
The unorthodox martial masters of Heaven’s Entrapment turned their backs to Jeong Yeon-shin.
For now, they had to.
The Division Leaders of Ipwang Fortress unleashed their ultimate techniques right away.
Techniques so devastating that even those fixated on Jeong Yeon-shin were forcibly drawn into the chaos.
“Heaven’s Spirit.”
Fwoosh!
The Leader of Changcheon slashed his long blade, sending sixteen streaks of azure sword energy spiraling upward.
His Changcheon Sword Arts—the piercing light spears burst from the ground like lightning, slicing through the groins of enemy martial masters before they could react.
The screams followed only after flesh had already been torn apart.
The So Yeon Division Leader, whose ears were as sharp as a sword’s edge, kicked the air and flipped midair.
It was the Boshinjeong’s Mu-ae Mu-jongshin (Unhindered and Unending Body).
With his kick, the very atmosphere compressed and collapsed inward. It was as if he had unleashed Shaolin’s Hundred-Step Divine Fist, but through his legs—shattering the weapons and bodies of those who had drawn too close, sending a storm of blood and fragmented steel into the air.
Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.
CLANG! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
He was not alone.
At every point where banners were planted, the ranks of Heaven’s Entrapment were simultaneously crushed.
Unhoe Peak, battered by repeated shockwaves, belched clouds of dirt as it trembled violently. The sheer vastness of the peak now seemed meaningless in the face of such destruction.
“They’re all wearing black! It’s obvious just from their damn faces!”
“What is happening...?!”
“Fall back! Fall back! We need reinforcements from the rear! And from the sides!”
But ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) no reinforcements came.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The hands of the great lords who had begun their assault were ruthless.
The sound of breaking bones and rupturing flesh painted translucent concentric circles in the air. A dozen figures clad in black were pressing inward, surrounding hundreds.
It was the state of perfect unity—mind, body, and spirit aligned. Even idle chatter was expelled as controlled exhalations of internal energy.
Even the Celestial Dragon Lord and the Lord of Infinite Extremes, both meeting Jeong Yeon-shin for the first time, were no exception.
“If this is the situation, then the rumors we heard below must be true, right? Not just from the look of that northern coward.”
“Does that mean he truly fought off three of the Thirteen Heavens alone...?”
“They say he stepped forward right before the Tang Clan fell. Risked his life for the people. At this point, rank and seniority don’t even matter—he’s...”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
BOOM!
The encirclement of black-clad warriors was overwhelming, barely comprehensible at a glance.
The storm did not abate. Trees and brush were violently uprooted, while the surrounding area was consumed by a rising cloud of dust.
Jeong Yeon-shin stared at the scene, momentarily dazed.
It felt like drifting through a dream. Even as he watched the Golden Dawn Lord shifting her stance restlessly, he felt no fear.
Like the day he trained in Magwang Arts under his uncle Ma Jin alongside Heon Won-chang, bathed in gentle sunlight—focusing on nothing but martial itself was enough.
Amidst the cacophony of destruction, he slowly parted his lips.
“You.”
“Huh?”
The Golden Dawn Lord reacted immediately. She whipped her head around to look at him, her golden eyes still crackling with electric brilliance.
That gaze.
The scholars called it the Eyes of the Golden Crow. They claimed it could even track the ascent of a celestial dragon—no martial technique could escape her sight.
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke calmly.
“We need to settle this.”
“You already lost, didn’t you? Don’t be rude. Accept it. You’re way too young to be challenging me.”
Step.
She replied offhandedly and turned away.
Something in their prior exchange had made her uneasy. The words of that old man—one who had lived through an empire’s rise—seemed to defy the weight of his years.
As if he weren’t human.
Jeong Yeon-shin rotated the halo of his heart, deep in thought.
A person who moved only according to their whims, looting sacred artifacts as they pleased, disregarding the order of nations as mere inconvenience.
This was not the temperament of someone willing to take risks. Their martial arts granted them boundless freedom.
Who could stop them?
“I’m heading to the world beyond. Let’s not drag this out.”
Just as the Golden Dawn Lord stepped forward—
Fwoooosh—!
A single silver spear streaked through the air.
The encirclement was pierced in a straight line.
Everyone caught in its trajectory was obliterated, their bodies bursting apart, and the silver spear slammed into the ground at the Golden Dawn Lord’s feet with a thunderous impact.
The spear trembled violently, like a moth’s fluttering wings.
It was Ak Su-rim.
She hadn’t even needed to look before throwing it.
Without hesitation, she summoned the banner of the Divine Sword Corps, pulling it toward her through sheer force of will. She wielded the flagpole like a spear, whirling it through the air.
Could she have mastered Banner Arts as well?
No one could withstand her blows. In the wake of the fluttering banner, bone and flesh were sent flying with grotesque force.
“......”
The Golden Dawn Lord’s next step faltered.
Thunderous explosions erupted twice in rapid succession.
Twin gales of wind came crashing down on either side of her. The shockwaves rippled violently through the earth.
RUMBLE—!
It was a palm blast and a fist wind.
Silent strikes fell like iron bars, unyielding and absolute. Two figures had unleashed them.
One was Bukgung Ah, the Celestial Lord of Flexibility, her long limbs coiling and snapping like a whip, her sky-blue eyes scanning the battlefield with detached annoyance.
The other was Shin Hwang, the Annihilation Lord, landing lightly among the enemy ranks, his thin frame draped in billowing robes.
Even within the Sky Net Formation, the Three Dark Generals remained unfazed.
Despite the overwhelming force gathered against them, they stood at ease.
Their perception encompassed the entire battlefield, extending even to distant threats.
They could undoubtedly sense the faintest twitch of Ma Gwang-ik’s fingers, attuned to their junior’s unspoken intent.
“This place is lacking.”
Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.
He envisioned a battlefield fit for a duel to the death—an arena where one decisive strike would end it all.
[You are right! Where else in the world but the north could such a battlefield exist?!]
The voice rang out from afar.
It was the Lord of the Tenfold Gate—a being who embodied the very concept of future calamity.
He had made his decision. He was escaping the infernal battlefield.
Three identical figures leapt in opposite directions.
Unlike before, even his clones appeared real.
A mere moment of focused breathing had elevated them to such a state.
CRACK!
[Ma Gwang-ik! You will regret setting foot among the Thirteen Heavens! Your existence is a grave threat to the martial world—!]
The three voices ceased at once.
The Divine Sword Corps banner, thrown by Ak Su-rim, tore through one clone and embedded itself in a boulder with a deep thud.
The second clone was seized mid-air by the Annihilation Lord, who slammed it headfirst into the ground.
“Seomye already did all the work. We’re just finishing up.”
“Hmph. He was already in terrible shape.”
Two rippling shockwaves burst forth.
The Celestial Dragon Lord unfurled a glowing white cord—Cotton Rope Snare—binding the Tenfold Gate Lord’s true body in an instant.
Simultaneously, the Lord of Infinite Extremes kicked the side of his knee, forcing him to collapse.
At that moment—
Another shadow emerged, cloak billowing like bat wings.
Right behind the Tenfold Gate Lord.
It was Jin Myeong-jo, the Blood Emperor Lord, his eyes gleaming crimson.
SQUELCH—!
A pale hand grasped the Tenfold Gate Lord’s head and crushed it to pulp.
