Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 460: Heavenly Motion (4)

The two sat on a roughly woven straw mat.

A tall, youthful boy and a stocky middle-aged man. The corner of the brown hemp mat repeatedly lifted and fell with the wind, making a dull, rhythmic sound as it slapped against the ground.

“...Why won’t it budge?”

Mount Hua’s Hidden Dragon, Yu Hyeon, murmured as he pulled one knee toward his chest.

At his waist hung a sword adorned with a plum blossom engraving, adding an enigmatic air to him.

Though still a boy, he exuded a sharp presence, as if he were a sheer cliff cut with a blade. He was the embodiment of Mount Hua’s thousand-year swordsmanship.

Yet even Mount Hua’s Hidden Dragon could not draw Yeorae.

Despite having fully absorbed most of the Jaso Pellet, which had greatly lengthened his limbs, and despite making significant strides in Mount Hua’s secret internal cultivation techniques, it was all in vain.

The sword remained utterly immovable. That was the reason for Yu Hyeon’s deep sense of frustration. Yeorae was like the embodiment of its former master’s unyielding will.

“A divine sword that finds the right master often becomes a sacred treasure. Sometimes, it even manifests miracles,” said a man with a neatly groomed beard.

He was a middle-aged man who wore a smooth, green long robe that suited him perfectly.

Poison Commander, Tang Unhwang.

The moment he arrived, he became the talk of the nearby marketplace.

From Sichuan to Hangzhou—an unimaginable distance for ordinary folk, even for most warriors of the martial world. Yet, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan had personally made the journey.

Many took a keen interest in him and the young boy beside him.

The battle had ended long ago.

The crowd around them continued to grow. Most were warriors carrying weapons, while some were nosy onlookers, their faces twitching with barely restrained gossip.

Among them were poets and scholars, lovers of scenic riverbanks and the beauty of swordplay. Many wore elegant scholarly robes.

This was Hangzhou.

“The head of the Tang Clan truly is of noble Iron Clan descent, just as the rumors claim.”

“Did you see that hammer move on its own? I never thought I’d witness the legendary Ten Thousand Flowers in the Rain.”

“With a single gesture, flowers bloom, and rain falls from the hammer... Remarkable. I heard that the late Violet Lord of Ipwang Fortress entrusted the Tang Clan with that secret technique. Their bond must have been deep.”

“Speaking of the Violet Lord, are those two really just sitting there because they can’t draw that sword?”

“Watch your mouth! They can hear you...!”

The murmuring voices.

Yu Hyeon paid them no mind. Compared to the reverence he received in Shaanxi, where he was hailed as a Celestial Child or Young Immortal, this was nothing. What mattered was the challenge before him.

“Should we dig up the ground and move it along with the soil?”

He spoke while gazing at Yeorae with a complicated expression.

Tang Unhwang, who had been seated cross-legged, shook his head.

“Do you even know how deep you’d have to dig? A divine sword’s spiritual essence is tied to the earth’s veins.”

“If we keep digging, we’ll manage somehow. It might not look great, but—”

Yu Hyeon’s response was as nonchalant as ever.

Tang Unhwang’s thick beard twitched slightly. His expression hardened.

“That sword now carries the honor of the Silver Lord. If you act carelessly, you’ll pay dearly.”

“If it were Yeon-shin, he’d choose practicality over honor. Or... am I wrong?”

“You only formed a superficial friendship. What do you truly know of the Silver Lord?”

Tang Unhwang, as the leader of the Sichuan Tang Clan, was not someone who could afford to quarrel with a mere late-stage prodigy. Yet their exchange was sharp. Yu Hyeon, too, was far from overly respectful.

—The Violet Lord of Ipwang Fortress fell while protecting the common people.

A rumor that had shaken the entire world.

Neither Tang Unhwang nor Yu Hyeon could believe what they hadn’t seen with their own eyes.

But if Jeong Yeon-shin’s opponent had been the Lord of Heavenly Extremes, and if even the Dark Heaven Emperor had intervened in the battle, the story changed.

Unless one was the Lord of Ipwang Fortress or the Martial God of the Northern Lands, no one could have survived their combined assault.

Furthermore, Yeorae remained embedded in the ground, under the watchful eyes of Taemosan Fortress’s sorcerers. It had become nothing more than a spectacle for the gathered crowd.

Time had passed.

The likelihood that Jeong Yeon-shin had truly perished was high.

Compared to the sword techniques the Lord of Heavenly Extremes had honed over decades, the new Violet Lord’s skill was still like a young sapling with the potential to shake the heavens.

The One Sword of the Outer Path had lost his eyesight in his youth and awakened his Mind’s Eye, thereafter shattering the swords of peerless masters.

Among those he defeated were the former Lords of the Thirteen Heavens and the heads of the Nine Great Sects.

Yu Hyeon’s eyes narrowed.

“Clan Lord.”

“If you’re going to speak nonsense, keep your mouth shut.”

“You believe Yeon-shin is dead, don’t you?”

“......”

Tang Unhwang’s lips remained tightly sealed. His heavy gaze, his firm grip on his hammer—it was a silent confirmation.

That meant the Tang Clan Lord had crossed the entire country to avenge Jeong Yeon-shin.

"They say the Tang Clan can read hearts..."

Yu Hyeon decided not to press further. He could not fault someone for having a different belief.

The two fell silent. Though the crowd around them murmured, an eerie stillness settled between them. The silence of the Tang Clan Lord and Mount Hua’s Hidden Dragon was heavy.

Neither had ever truly considered Jeong Yeon-shin’s death before. For now, all they could do was protect Yeorae.

After a moment, Yu Hyeon lifted his head.

The crowd around them was parting. The sound of shallow, anxious breaths filled the air. Some onlookers, despite carrying swords at their waists, quickly stepped aside.

Through the gap, a group approached.

All of them were swordsmen. Thirty or so, moving as one, exuding a crushing pressure. Their mere approach displaced the air and kicked up thick clouds of dust.

Their yellow robes fluttered as they stopped, gazing at Tang Unhwang, Yu Hyeon, and Yeorae.

Two figures stepped forward.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

One was a middle-aged man clad in tight-fitting black robes, dressed like an assassin. The other was a woman, her arms bare, revealing sleek, defined muscles.

They had one thing in common—they had deliberately removed any loose sleeves that might interfere with their swordplay.

The woman, however, clearly held the highest rank. Embroidered in black thread on her white, sleeveless martial robes were two characters: Heavenly Extremes.

“......”

Her presence was as sharp and refined as a sword’s edge.

She stood with a hand resting on the hilt at her waist, locking eyes with Tang Unhwang and Yu Hyeon. It was Yu Hyeon who spoke first.

“Thieves have become far too bold these days.”

“Thieves?”

The woman asked shortly. Yu Hyeon nodded and continued.

“Aren’t you here to reclaim what was lost? Trying to take a sword you can’t even draw.”

“It seems you can’t draw it either.”

“...We have ties to Yeorae’s rightful owner. Unlike greedy heretics blinded by material desire.”

The moment Thunder Blade grasped her sword, a calm but deadly voice echoed from beside Yeorae.

“Well, then, I’ll take care of this.”

A young man with a blue cloth wrapped around his head landed silently like a ghost.

The moment his hand carefully wrapped around Yeorae’s hilt—

One of the Heavenly Extremes swordsmen, mid-draw, abruptly stopped.

A beat later, his head exploded. frёeωebɳovel.com

Splatter—!

“Oh dear, his forehead shattered before he even hit the ground. Seems he was born under a cursed star.”

The young man with the Hero’s Headband idly tossed a dagger into the air before catching it again. It was a different blade from the one he had just thrown.

His speed in drawing and throwing weapons was as fast as lightning, and despite his seemingly casual movements, his aura was brimming with killing intent. A cold energy radiated from his entire body.

“Ipwang Grand Hero...?”

“Yu Hyeon, you’ve grown taller since we last met.”

Hyeon Won-chang did not even glance at Yu Hyeon. Nor did he meet Tang Unhwang’s gaze, despite their past association during a mission in Sichuan. Instead, he simply ran his hand slowly over Yeorae’s hilt.

“......”

His unnaturally long fingers, honed through years of assassin training since childhood, trembled slightly.

“Your martial power has become terrifyingly strong,” said Tang Unhwang, retrieving the hammer he had nearly used to crush Hyeon Won-chang’s head moments ago.

Hyeon Won-chang acknowledged him with a sidelong nod.

“...It’s just because I temporarily released my internal restraints.”

“There was never an ordinary person around the Silver Lord. I sensed the killing intent on your hands, but today it’s especially thick. Seems you were raised in an assassination sect.”

“Well...”

Hyeon Won-chang brushed it off vaguely, then let his gaze sweep over the gathered crowd.

“This doesn’t belong to any of you.”

His voice was slow and deliberate.

“I will take it... and return it to its rightful owner, no matter when.”

His grip on Yeorae tightened. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, displaying the immense strength he was exerting. A faint, almost imperceptible white glow shimmered around his fingers.

Radiance Sealing Art.

Crunch—

For a moment, Yeorae lifted slightly. The entire crowd held its breath.

But that was as far as it went. The sword trembled momentarily, then refused to move any further. Hyeon Won-chang’s expression twisted in frustration.

“...Why... won’t it...”

A tremendous roar erupted from the side. The moment Yeorae budged, Thunder Blade and Tang Unhwang clashed.

Milky white swordlight and a pitch-black hammer met, sending sparks flying. At the same time, Yu Hyeon had to deal with the blade of Mang Injon, which had reached dangerously close to him.

Boom!

Yu Hyeon was flung backward. Though he had barely managed to block the attack, the sheer force behind the strike was overwhelming.

There simply wasn’t enough time to gather his energy. As he skidded to a stop, carving a long trench into the ground, his hands trembled slightly from the impact.

“A mere fledgling who has yet to achieve harmony between Essence, Energy, and Spirit... and yet you survived.”

It was Mang Injon of Heavenly Extremes Sect. He didn’t bother to finish his sentence before unleashing his full aura.

One of the Five Swords of the Celestial Core, capable of contending with the heads of the Divine Sword Sect.

For a fleeting moment, Yu Hyeon’s face went pale.

The battle had begun.

Waves of energy exploded in all directions as the elite swordsmen of the Heavenly Extremes Sect formed a massive encirclement.

Within it stood Thunder Blade and Tang Unhwang, Mang Injon and Yu Hyeon, Hyeon Won-chang, and a woman in a long blue robe whose hem trailed down to her ankles.

It was Shin So-bin.

Her short, cropped hair swayed as she approached, her large eyes fixed intently on Yeorae.

“Why, why...”

Hyeon Won-chang cast her a brief glance.

“Perfect timing. It won’t budge.”

“This is real. It really is Yeorae.”

“Try pulling it. You’ve mastered Radiance Sealing Art and True Family Internal Arts, so maybe it’ll work. Aren’t you the Lord’s proxy?”

“This can’t be happening... It shouldn’t...”

Shin So-bin took a hesitant step back. The soft crunch of her foot pressing against the dirt echoed faintly.

A faint radiance shimmered around her face, lifting the strands of hair near her temples. The internal energy of Radiance Sealing Art was seeping from her entire body.

For the first time, Hyeon Won-chang’s brows knitted together.

“We don’t know when the One Sword of the Outer Path will appear. I’ll hold off the small fry—just hurry up.”

“Our Lord... he said he’d visit his nephew in Shaanxi next year...”

Her voice wavered.

This was unlike her. She was no longer the resolute daughter of Ipwang Fortress’s most prestigious family.

Hyeon Won-chang’s voice sharpened.

“Can’t you feel Vice Commander Ak’s energy? Spread your senses further! The sorcerers of Taemosan Fortress are watching from above. Not to mention, the Blood Witch of the True Blood Sect is here. Cheongan Sword Senior said even the drunken bellow of Great Blade Sovereign can be heard.”

“Ah...”

“On top of that, Dark Heaven Emperor is a monster who can control phantom spirits like Ancient Sword Hermit! Even the Five Celestial Swords are too much for Divine Spear Senior alone! And what about the Ten Thousand Flowers in the Rain? Everyone’s converging here!”

The greatest prodigies of the martial world. Supreme masters. Aristocratic demons born into noble bloodlines. Grandmasters of mystical arts, wielding thunder and ice. And swordsmen raised from childhood, gripping their blades like Hyeon Won-chang.

The martial world.

A place where power draws more power. No matter how vast Hangzhou was, it was no exception.

A land that gathered such enormous might was bound to become a battlefield. And most of them would, at least once, attempt to pull Yeorae.

This marketplace would soon—

Become a battleground of living natural disasters.

In that brief instant, Shin So-bin’s unfocused gaze cleared.

Her calloused, pale hand reached toward Yeorae.

The energy of Radiance Sealing Art surged through her body, guided by the techniques of True Family Internal Arts. In that moment, she was the closest presence to Jeong Yeon-shin among everyone gathered.

Shffft.

This was a land filled with warriors whose upper dantian intuition was highly developed.

Surrounded by formidable cultivators, every one of whom had just unleashed a technique, many turned their gazes toward Shin So-bin.

Then—

Before her fingers could even fully wrap around Yeorae, the ground cracked.

“...!”

Yeorae pulsed with a faint «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» wave.

A ripple spread from the ground where the pale white sword had been embedded.

The dust stirred by the warriors rippled outward in concentric circles, expanding in a silent but massive shockwave.

Shin So-bin’s eyes widened as she instinctively retreated with a swift Phantom Wing Step.

Suddenly, Yeorae twisted.

Then, like a dragon’s roar, it let out an earth-shattering sound and shot into the sky.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

In the blink of an eye, the divine sword transformed into a pillar of light, soaring in a massive arc so high that its destination was unimaginable.

And then, it disappeared into the farthest reaches of the sky.