Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 332: Grandfather and Grandson (5)

The Holy Radiant Grand Blade Corps’ Mo Yong Jung-rak versus the Lotus Manifestation Jeong Yeon-shin.

Both swordsmen had drawn their blades.

One dressed in pristine white robes, the other cloaked in jet-black garments. Their contrast was stark.

Clang!

Brilliant white streaks of light coiled around their figures, trailing behind their movements like afterimages.

Each clash left behind a blade’s trajectory carved into the air—so refined, so otherworldly that it seemed beyond mortal grasp.

Like wisps of smoke, the strikes manifested and vanished in an instant, resembling the ethereal robes of immortal beings.

Yet, the shockwaves they generated were devastating. It was a battle that could shake the heavens and move the earth.

Even to the scions of Ipwang Fortress’s noble families, it was an awe-inspiring spectacle—merely witnessing it broadened one's martial understanding.

“Haah...”

On the sloping path, where the Rogue stood tall—

Shin So-bin's round eyes widened. She sharpened her focus.

Even though the movements were almost too fast to track, something seared into her memory. It was the clash of two martial wills honed to the pinnacle.

Despite having witnessed the martial prowess of the Grand Priests during the Black Robe Ascension, what she now saw far surpassed that.

The battle between Mo Yong Jung-rak and Senior Jeong was of such a caliber that it was difficult to believe they were even human.

For a girl who once sought to safeguard the people and bring honor to the name of Ipwang Divine House, for a junior who had once watched Jeong Yeon-shin receive the Azure Mantle, this was a moment of overwhelming astonishment.

“So this is what it means to take Radiant Transcendence Swordsmanship to such extremes...”

The white martial robes of a Luminous Blade Sect disciple fluttered under the aftermath of their strikes.

The winds that blew from the two warriors were strangely heavy. It was because their martial refinement was on an entirely different plane. The depth of their mastery was incomparable.

For Mo Yong Jung-rak, such an achievement was expected.

But the youngest Black Robe of Ipwang Fortress?

That was different.

Anyone would call it an anomaly.

‘His forms feel flawless. It’s as if he’s refined swordsmanship for decades.’

Was it only because he was facing one of the Eight Great Houses that such brilliance stood out?

To her, Jeong Yeon-shin was beyond mere human limitations—almost like a founder of a martial lineage.

His distant, unapproachable nature, his subtle arrogance, and even his awkward sincerity had long become familiar to her.

And yet, at times— it felt as though they walked through different timelines.

Like now.

It was an unsettling disconnect, something that could not be explained by talent alone.

Shin So-bin pondered.

‘There’s something about Ma Gwang-ik that he doesn’t know.’

“Is that truly a sword technique derived from Radiant Transcendence Swordsmanship?"

Her voice carried a note of doubt.

"Sword Thunder Ridge Formation... Now that I think about it, I haven’t experienced it much. The Grand Priest’s guided duels have been rare lately.”

“The young Grand Priest turned swordsmanship into a transcendent art ages ago. If your eyes were as sharp as your tongue, you would have realized it sooner.”

The words were deliberate, spoken with feigned ease despite the urgency of the battle.

Hyeon Won-chang and Tae Yeom-ryong.

Step.

The two moved subtly in front of her.

The raging storm of martial force felt noticeably weaker—as if their radiant force mastery was unraveling the storm just enough.

They had always been steadfast, yet somewhat unreliable seniors. But upon closer inspection, their expertise in Radiant Art of Blazing ran far deeper than most within Ma Gwang-ik.

Shin So-bin asked, "Why does Senior Yang Guifei practice so relentlessly?"

“...Hm?”

BOOM!

The answer was delayed.

The momentary distraction, the roar of battle, and the sight of Jeong Yeon-shin being flung across the clearing made Tae Yeom-ryong’s head snap around.

He was too focused on observing the fight.

But even as his gaze followed the collision, his lips continued to move, absentmindedly murmuring about Yang Guifei.

Shin So-bin did not scold him.

She, too, was feeling anxious.

Rumble—

The cliffside collapsed beneath the warriors.

The Grand Priest was facing an opponent of an entirely different league—alone.

The enigmatic, unfathomable Senior who had once ripped the arm from the Lord of Simmu-ryeon was certainly an immense ally, yet at this moment, he stood with his arms crossed, radiating only an aloof, untouchable aura.

As if he was saying—

This is an irreversible moment.

As if a world-shaking force was about to become manifest.

‘Is it too soon?’

Shin So-bin had heard what he and the Grand Priest had discussed.

This battle of life and death was to be used as a stepping stone for something greater.

There was a chance he wouldn’t interfere.

She had to suppress her unease.

So, she parted her lips and spoke swiftly, using Silent Word Technique.

"The Radiant Art of Blazing... Huangbo Family’s martial arts are practically at the level of transcendent arts."

“...If someone of my caliber has the talent, then learning many arts will only be beneficial. Expanding one’s horizons naturally leads to an increase in martial prowess. I’m on the verge of attaining Three Essences Convergence, after all.”

“And yet, even with all that talent, Senior Yang Guifei is barely worthy of tying the Grand Priest’s shoes.”

“That’s not something I’d expect to hear from a lower-rank martial artist.”

"In any case, the Radiant Art of Blazing is an entertaining discipline. The core methods in the manuals seem simple, but hidden within are much more advanced techniques. It’s as if they were deliberately concealed, as if expecting no one would understand them. Uncovering such hidden gems is what makes it enjoyable. That’s how I stumbled upon Flame Fortification."

"But they say all paths return to one. Isn't it better to dig deep into a single discipline?"

"I get bored too easily. The broader the vessel of martial arts, the more fickle the mind becomes."

"That monster over there—"

He nodded toward Mo Yong Jung-rak, who was engulfed in sword aura.

"The Holy Radiant Grand Blade Corps commander has probably mastered all nineteen of Mo Yong Clan’s sword techniques. He doesn’t hesitate to use whatever means necessary to elevate his martial arts. There are even rumors that he harbors an unspoken grudge, rooted in his royal Yan ancestry."

Shin So-bin remained silent.

She had known, but hearing it aloud made the battle before her feel even heavier.

“You might not feel it, but that monster—despite only using a sword—seems far more composed than the High Lord.”

Tae Yeom-ryong absentmindedly tapped his foot.

Beside him, Hyeon Won-chang had long since stiffened, his body turned toward the direction where Jeong Yeon-shin had dashed across the cliffside as if it were flat ground.

“The weight of each sword strike varies drastically. It’s hard to discern, but... he’s clearly mastered both hardness and fluidity, as well as speed. At an absolute level.”

“This is absurdly disgraceful. A man of Mo Yong Jung-rak’s status and age seriously exchanging swords with our High Lord.”

“What do you think will happen?”

“Our High Lord’s swordplay is centered around brute force and speed. It might not work against a peerless swordsman from a prestigious lineage. Martial arts meant for swift kills tend to have a fatal flaw—while they can slay an equal in a single strike, they struggle in prolonged battles and counterattacks.

Won-chang, when I signal, throw me with all your strength. With my clan’s King of Celestial Waters Technique, I can at least buy our High Lord a moment.”

At that moment—

BOOM!

The entire cliffside exploded.

Mo Yong Jung-rak and Jeong Yeon-shin were engulfed in blinding light.

Like a second sun had risen.

A sphere of energy formed from the Mo Yong Clan Lord’s sword aura suddenly manifested, scattering sunlight.

It held an unnatural aura of mysticism.

At the pinnacle of martial mastery, the line between martial arts and sorcery blurred.

At first glance, it looked like a formation barrier conjured through sorcery.

“Won-chang!”

As Tae Yeom-ryong shouted—

All three of them froze.

An overwhelming presence bound them in place.

It was as if their pressure points had been struck in an instant.

“...A true genius...”

Ma Yeon-jeok, who had been silent, finally spoke.

He hadn’t even unfolded his arms.

“...Learns what they have never heard, knows what they have never seen. A golden crow that eats dragons doesn’t need to study the sky to spread its wings.

But what if a serpent stood in its path?”

The three of them weren’t listening.

The waves of energy surging from their bodies slashed through the air like invisible blades.

Yet not one of them could move.

And in the distance, the countless dignitaries of Taewon, and the warriors of Salmun, watched in absolute silence.

***

Two hundred and thirty exchanges.

Jeong Yeon-shin counted the techniques exchanged with Mo Yong Jung-rak.

Despite the sheer number, the actual time that had passed was not even a single breath. Every sword strike was executed with lightning-fast precision.

Even with a broken sword, his Thunderclap Ridgesword Technique remained formidable.

However, handling the ever-changing Meteoric Sword was a different matter. Formless Supreme Flow had only managed to shatter the cliff rather than strike Mo Yong Jung-rak.

Each moment was a series of choices.

Final Thunderclap and Divine Dragon's Dual Flame could not be used simultaneously. Both were techniques that pushed the body past its limits. It was impossible to activate them at the same time.

Unless he had a technique like Wudang's Dual Harmony Internal Art, which allowed the fusion of extreme energies, combining such internal force techniques was simply not feasible.

When power was needed, he used Final Thunderclap. When reaction speed was crucial, he relied on Divine Dragon's Dual Flame.

Throughout the battle—

Mo Yong Jung-rak never let his guard down.

He effortlessly neutralized Jeong Yeon-shin’s techniques with masterful precision. Whether it was intercepting his broken Northern Dark Sword with Heavenly Myriad Blossoms or preventing him from fusing sword and mind through Flying Sword Arts, every move was carefully countered.

Unlike Je Gal Ga-ju, who had approached him despite being skilled in long-range magic techniques, the Radiant Greatsword Lord never relinquished his distance. Instead, he crushed Jeong Yeon-shin with his supreme swordplay.

The air between them grew unbearably tense.

Like shattered fragments of glass, the residual force from their strikes lingered, filling the battlefield with invisible, razor-sharp edges. Everything seemed on the verge of eruption. The battle had reached its climax.

‘The impact is too intense. He’s directing all the pressure from his sword techniques toward me.’

His opponent was a master swordsman.

In the time it took for a single breath to be divided into hundreds of smaller intervals, Jeong Yeon-shin struggled to maintain his balance.

Mo Yong Jung-rak’s sword flashed in front of him—a pale, deathly stroke.

Only a divine technique could break a divine sword.

He had no defensive techniques of such caliber.

A strike capable of shattering the Northern Dark Sword could just as easily sever his throat.

—Wuum—

The two hundred and thirty-first exchange.

“...I’ve had enough of your swordsmanship. Let’s end this here.”

Suddenly, the accumulated force from Mo Yong Jung-rak’s strikes solidified into a domain.

The sword field that Jeong Yeon-shin had sensed before now took physical shape.

He could feel it—an invisible space designed to accelerate the speed of Mo Yong Jung-rak’s blade even further.

As rocks crumbled and the wind howled, the world around them transformed into an ethereal void—an infinite battlefield where all existence flowed freely.

Another divine technique was manifesting.

How many techniques did he possess?

This was the true power of a great clan’s master, one who carried the legacy of hundreds of years of martial history.

—Uuuuuuung—

It sounded as if hundreds of heartbeats resonated at once.

At the same time, darkness enveloped the battlefield.

The shadows were cast by the fragments of force lingering in the air—a spectral domain created by a sword style that had reached the realm of divine mastery.

The air trembled, vibrating with a deep resonance. Even with Heaven-Piercing Vision, Jeong Yeon-shin could only make out hazy silhouettes within the gloom.

Everyone had a defining moment in their martial journey.

It could be Descending Strike, an unexpected maneuver, or a chain-linked technique that grew stronger mid-fight.

But the life-saving technique of a supreme master was different. Their lives were heavy.

A life-saving technique at the level of supreme martial mastery was a hidden trump card that only true masters wielded. For Radiant Greatsword Lord Mo Yong Jung-rak, that technique was this very manifested domain of sword force.

It felt as if Jeong Yeon-shin was trapped within an ocean of rippling waves beneath the night sky. /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Everything was converging toward him.

The moment he clenched the sword hilt, a barren thought pierced through his ears. Through the divine nature of martial mastery, his mind instinctively processed the words in his upper dantian.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

[Heavenly Titan Spear.]

A secret sword art, hidden within the shadows of the domain.

An incredibly natural thrust.

The trajectory reflected both the experience of a seasoned martial artist and the realm of a supreme swordsman. He had no time to react.

—Thud—

A long blade shadow pierced through Jeong Yeon-shin’s abdomen.

It tore straight through his back.

The pain was unbearable. He could feel a massive foreign presence inside his stomach. His flesh burned as if it were set ablaze.

“In Ipwang Fortress, this is an experience all high-ranking figures endure.”

A voice hummed through the darkness, composed of countless fragments of residual force from a divine martial domain.

“Whether or not one can claim the head of a great sect leader... those who succeeded wore purple robes, and those who failed were buried in the mountains, their bodies never found.”

“......”

“Young one, what a pity. If only you had been born in Liaodong, Liaoxi, or Liaoning....”

“Since I became a Black-Robed Swordsman.”

“Hm?”

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly parted his lips. His Vital Circulation Technique was desperately holding his organs together, but blood boiled in his throat like phlegm.

“I’ve always wondered.”

“You’re pushing yourself too hard, Jeong Yeon-shin.”

Mo Yong Jung-rak spoke with admiration. But Jeong Yeon-shin ignored him and continued.

“How to deal with someone like you.”

“...What?”

Mo Yong Jung-rak asked briefly, but he did not move further. He, too, had overexerted himself.

He had made his final move, he had succeeded, and now he was enduring the recoil of unleashing an ultra-fast strike.

The battlefield, dominated by his domain, was not necessarily an easy place to maneuver even for Mo Yong Jung-rak.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer.

The gentle breath of Ipwang Fortress Lord seemed to linger in his ears.

—A master’s senses cannot be easily deceived. You must engrave this fact into your heart.

—Right now... that seems impossible.

—Impossible?

—It looks too difficult to execute properly. Controlling energy flow to invade the opponent’s sense of perception, or disrupting their senses mid-battle...

He whispered to his past self in his mind.

It was never about deceiving the senses.

It was always about controlling the flow of energy.

—Shaa—

The innate quality within him flowed like a brilliant flash of light. The power of his Radiant Wheel Technique transformed into an auspicious force, spreading across his surroundings.

At the same time—

The fragments of force that Mo Yong Jung-rak had scattered began to change their nature all at once.

The corridor of shattered mirror shards twisted as light scattered across them, flipping the entire space inside out.

A network of infinite sword trajectories.

Like a river of force, the flow shifted toward Jeong Yeon-shin, then surged back toward Mo Yong Jung-rak like a tidal wave.

Mind Sword.

The surroundings brightened. It was like stepping into the light of dawn.

He had taken control of the domain of sword energy and converted it into his own path.

Mo Yong Jung-rak’s presence wavered as his shadow flickered.

He was the first to sense it.

A supreme master had just lost control over his own energy flow.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not speak further.

The severed blade of the Northern Dark Sword in his hand ignited with blue flames.

A azure fire engulfed the shortened blade, stretching into a burning edge in the blink of an eye.

A marvel of internal energy control.

He had refined the scattered force into a single concentrated form.

Mo Yong Jung-rak’s brows twitched.

Immediately, the surroundings were dyed in deep blue light.

The Radiant Greatsword Lord had reached the pinnacle of the Three Flowers Ascension, a realm of ultimate mastery.

Yet, in that brief instant, he instinctively erected Heavenly Demon War Armor, an internal force barrier that enveloped his entire body.

A subconscious mistake.

[Azure Flame Eclipse.]

Jeong Yeon-shin’s whisper slipped from his lips.

—Hwaaaah!—

The flames of the sword strike surged forth, dyeing the cliffs in azure blue as they rushed forward.

A speed that even a supreme swordsman could not react to.

It was as if a second sun had risen.

The chillingly blue radiance filled the entire domain, engulfing Mo Yong Jung-rak’s figure in a blazing torrent.