Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 463: The Five Swords of the World (1)

Jeong Yeon-shin took a step back. The nape of the Seventh Apostle, pale as frost, grew that much farther away.

He had activated the Sword Song with the sensation of spreading his Six Harmonies Zenith Form widely.

“......”

The vast clearing, cast in deep shadows, had been drenched in silence for some time.

Even So Cheonmujuk, who always had something to say by his side, had fallen quiet. She stood with her hands clasped behind her back, gradually fading from sight.

Jeong Yeon-shin paid it no mind.

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The gentle breeze carried falling autumn leaves, piling atop the shade cast by swaying branches.

Thus, the silence of Taemo Mountain Fortress and the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate was tinged with crimson.

Among the great sects competing for dominance—Ipwang Fortress, Mount Hua, and Azure Fortress—the Thirteen Heavens of the Unorthodox Path still held sway over Hangzhou.

Those surrounding the clearing at this moment were elite martial artists. Though there were differences in their achievements, all had long since tempered their upper dantian with inner power.

Naturally, they could faintly sense the intent woven into the melody of the sword.

But Jeong Yeon-shin had not called out to them. The Divine Sword, Yeoroe, cried out toward an entirely different audience.

Come.

He called out to Yeoroe, floating by his side.

Uuuung.

Since he had not used the Sword Song as an attack maneuver, there was no crack in the milky-white divine blade as it gracefully traced an arc and returned.

It brushed, almost coincidentally, against the hilt of the Songmun Ancient Sword strapped to Jeong Yeon-shin’s waist before slipping smoothly into its scabbard.

Now, two swords hung at his waist.

Sabak.

The Seventh Apostle turned toward him. Her long, black hair, cutting through the transparent autumn wind, shimmered darkly. Even though she had moved on her own accord, she seemed startled by her own reaction.

The black eyepatch slanted across her face trembled slightly, and a flicker of red glowed in her opposite eye.

Her lips slowly parted.

“I...”

“They're coming.”

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke, still facing sideways. Before he even finished, the Seventh Apostle had already turned her gaze in that direction.

Slaash!

A faint white line was etched into the air. It was as if space itself had been torn.

The dust swirling over the rich, ochre-colored ground was sucked toward that vertical rift with a sudden whoosh.

At the same time.

A shadow slipped through the gap like smoke.

A figure holding a loosely gripped sword, steam billowing from its blade. The crimson glow spreading along its edge sizzled, hissing like searing iron plunged into cold water.

It defied natural order. A phenomenon befitting the term Unorthodox Path.

“This wasn’t easy, but today I managed.”

A voice followed—a casual tone, like that of a middle-aged man one might hear in any village.

“I had quite the trouble prying the Sect Leader of Mount Hua away... but what could I do? In my not-so-short life, I’ve never seen a junior this brazen.”

His voice was remarkably composed.

Ssswip.

Jeong Yeon-shin placed a hand on Yeoroe’s hilt. A faint numbness spread across his upper body, the lingering scars of the sword wounds he had suffered here in Hangzhou—his first true defeat in battle.

“...The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate.”

A small stone, resting at the edge of the clearing, sank into the ground. A young man, still youthful in appearance.

He sat inside a palanquin, surrounded by dozens of sorcerers with their hair tied up in high knots. Even without deep thought, it was clear he was a high-ranking figure of Taemo Mountain Fortress.

The sudden appearance of the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate seemed to have astonished even those well-versed in the sorcerous arts.

Swordsmanship breaching dimensional voids...?

As Jeong Yeon-shin silently observed the blind man beneath the conical hat, lost in thought—

Step.

An unhesitating footstep pressed against the earth.

It was the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate.

He pulled the conical hat forward, covering his face with its wide brim as he smiled.

The shadow cast by the brim concealed his clouded eyes, leaving only his lips, curled in an almost amused arc, visible in the silence.

“Don’t disappoint me. If you recklessly meddle like last time, I’ll have no choice but to deal with not just you, but every swordsman of Ipwang Fortress. I will refuse to acknowledge you as a fellow swordsman.”

“......”

“There’s nothing more to say.”

Spinning his sword once, the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate spoke.

He didn’t spare a single glance toward the swordsmen of Celestial Extremity Gate standing in the formation. His body was wholly turned toward Jeong Yeon-shin.

Even the Seventh Apostle, whose presence in battle could shift the tide, was completely disregarded.

Perhaps seeking to aid him, the young man at the center of Taemo Mountain Fortress’s sorcerers suddenly shouted.

“Advance!”

Crackle!

At that moment, streaks of blue lightning spread like a net from the Taemo Mountain Fortress’s ranks.

It was an incantation-like formation, linking the sorcerers together through resonating inner power, bolstering their momentum. Heat surged outward in all directions.

Cho Il-seo’s voice did not stop there.

“The heavens have bestowed their will upon Hangzhou! There is a renowned healer in West Lake with divine medical skills. He currently only aids those he deems worthy, but under the name of the Lord of Taemo Mountain Fortress, even the divine physician will have no choice but to comply! As long as you survive, you will be rewarded! Those who contribute to the premature end of the Wild Annihilation will receive immense compensation...!”

Ssswip.

The head of the foremost sorcerer was suddenly grasped by a pale hand.

And in an instant—crack!—it was wrenched free, along with the entire length of his spine.

“Your nape was unworthy.”

A smooth voice.

The Seventh Apostle had traversed the air like a bat and now held the head of a Taemo Mountain Fortress master in her grip.

Whatever footwork she had used, a sinister mist of blood-red fog arose, pressing down on the crackling streaks of blue lightning.

It was the mist of a formidable martial talent, infused with true energy. That crimson fog filled the air, ensuring that the lightning conjured by the sorcerers did not leap toward the village beyond the clearing.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

She was soon doused in a spray of blood.

“......”

The Seventh Apostle’s red eyes remained startlingly clear. A faint trace of amusement flickered in them. She even tossed the severed head to the ground at her feet, her blood-red lips curling into a smile.

The tangled power struggle had forced their alignment, but regardless of the complexity, this was the first time Jeong Yeon-shin and the Seventh Apostle had stood as one.

She would take care of the troublesome obstacles.

Now, he could set everything else aside.

As long as the village remains untouched.

Jeong Yeon-shin withdrew all traces of his awareness directed toward the enemy and focused solely on the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate.

A strange pressure suddenly bore down on him, like countless sharp needles piercing his skin.

Even now, he had to sharpen every sense just to perceive the depths of this martial prowess.

There was no doubt.

The blind man standing before him was one of the few who could truly contend for the title of the Greatest Sword in the World.

The Sect Leader of Wudang, the Master of the Divine Sword Sect, the Lord of the Tyrant Blade Sect—and among them, the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate was undeniably one of the Five Supreme Swords.

Jeong Yeon-shin had already felt his own inadequacy when they first clashed in Zhejiang.

This battle would be a defining moment.

He would retrieve Baek Mi-ryeo, his disciple and sworn sister, and before winter’s end, he would formally challenge Yong Hui-myeong, the Divine Sword Sect Master.

“I waited, hoping to grant you the first move as a courtesy to a junior, but at this rate, everyone you summoned will have arrived. The crazed Sect Leader of Mount Hua is troublesome enough... but I find Shaolin’s Great Master Beomheo particularly vexing.”

Thus, I shall make my move first—

The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s amused voice faded into the wind of his sword.

In a single step, he closed the distance to Jeong Yeon-shin and struck with his blade.

Jeong Yeon-shin instantly drew Yeoroe.

That very motion—his draw—was both a defensive maneuver and the start of a counterattack.

CLANG!!

His body was hurled backward like a cannonball.

He had been utterly overpowered by the sword force. The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s strike was an overwhelmingly dominant strong sword.

It was the essence and foundation of swordsmanship—to swing the blade with both strength and speed, mastered to the point of perfection. For a brief moment, even his temperament evoked the presence of a tyrannical overlord.

As expected.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

He would not be able to win without activating Final Thunderclap.

Fwaaaah!

The wind roared fiercely past his ears. The power behind the First Sword of the Unorthodox Path’s strike was launching him all the way to the distant ridges of the mountains.

From afar, he could see the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s mouth move—now a minuscule figure in the distance. The blind man beneath the conical hat was murmuring, “You deliberately relaxed your stance.”

He had seen through Jeong Yeon-shin’s intent.

And then, in a single step, the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate surged into the air, closing the distance in an instant.

“It seems coming back from the dead has done you no good.”

Kwarung!

At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s entire body became the pistil of a massive, colorless lotus in bloom.

A single, immense flower—this was the ultimate culmination of Raging River Study, a technique that thundered through his entire body’s meridians and acupoints with sheer explosive energy. The transparent, leaf-like energy emitted a deep, resonant hum.

And in that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin entered a world where he could sense every single strand of wind brushing against him. A domain where transcendental masters could unfold the entirety of their martial arts in a single move.

First.

Suspended high in the air, Jeong Yeon-shin stretched his leg outward, striking the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s nape—like a sickle cutting through a stalk of grain.

Ashamed Night Kick Technique.

Ashamed Night—named as such because he had devised this technique during the nights when he was filled with remorse after once acting rudely toward the Ancient Swordmaster.

Swiiiik—

His upper body bent backward, and in the next instant, his leg, curved like a whip, sent the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate plummeting toward the ground. From the very tip of his foot, a translucent shockwave erupted.

Kwaaaaang!!

The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate crashed vertically downward.

The ridgeline of the mountain trembled violently, spewing thick clouds of dust, and several trees toppled over with splintering cracks.

A calm voice rang out soon after.

“Your combination of techniques has become impressively seamless.”

“I meant to break your neck.”

Jeong Yeon-shin replied, descending into the forest with Yeoroe in hand. All around him, the battlefield had completely changed—the air filled with dry, barren branches.

Within that desolate scenery, the blind swordsman stood smiling.

He had not fallen. He had landed properly, completely unscathed—not even a speck of dust on his conical hat or the deep blue of his robes.

But Jeong Yeon-shin’s composure remained undisturbed.

Even if I can’t see it.

The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s Body-Strengthening True Qi was incredibly formidable. It was as if he had constructed an inner force barrier capable of withstanding even his own sword strikes.

A complete, flawless swordmaster.

If he allowed himself to be wounded by a blade, it would be beyond recovery in an instant. Even bare-handed techniques or internal energy attacks would struggle to inflict a fatal blow.

He had mastered an immense variety of sword techniques to an almost divine level—meaning he couldn’t be overwhelmed by skill alone.

And on top of that, he could sever space itself with a single sword stroke.

He must have completed Moon-Sundering Dance by now.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

How should he approach this fight if he wanted to take that man’s head?

“That sword of yours... I didn’t sense it at first.”

The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate gestured toward Jeong Yeon-shin’s waist with a tilt of his chin. He behaved as though he had never lost his sight.

“Wait a moment. That pine tree emblem...”

“Your conical hat is an eyesore.”

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly remarked, staring at him impassively.

“Hmm?”

“It must be restricting your movement, just for the sake of appearances.”

“Ah, well, even my body-strengthening techniques can’t block out the sunlight. When speaking before a crowd about the grand tales of the martial world, a polished and articulate tongue is crucial—but so is a smooth, unblemished face. You, too, shouldn’t waste that precious visage of yours—”

Snap.

A twig broke in the distance.

It came from behind Jeong Yeon-shin, beyond his shoulder.

“...?”

A true master’s senses were like flowing water.

On an ordinary battlefield, awareness spread wide, like an ocean. But before a foe who could threaten one’s very life, focus narrowed to a single, unyielding torrent, pouring entirely toward the opponent.

To perceive every subtlety in the exchange of techniques, it had to be that way.

The stronger the opponent, the more pronounced this tendency became.

And because of that, at this very moment, a group of herb gatherers carrying baskets and satchels had managed to approach unnoticed.

Hangzhou was known for suffering relatively less from famine.

With farming yields unreliable, many people sought sustenance in the mountains, praying for the mercy of mountain spirits.

Given the sheer population of those living in the great cities, it was not uncommon.

“W-We saw nothing! Absolutely nothing!”

“Run! Run now!”

The group of six or so turned and fled in terror the moment they laid eyes on them.

The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s face held a trace of amusement.

It was a situation similar to one he had encountered before.

As the greatest swordsman of the Unorthodox Path, he found moments like these fitting to test his junior’s growth.

“Your energy control is as fluid as that of the Ancient Swordmaster.”

Suddenly, the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s sword came down in a straight, unhesitating arc, carving the shape of a crescent moon.

Along that very trajectory, a colorless, crescent-shaped shockwave burst forth.

It raced toward the fleeing figures.

“Ultimately, swordsmanship is all that matters, don’t you think?”

Kwaaaaaa!!

The air split apart, compressing as it was sundered.

Before an eye could blink, the strike had traversed thirty paces.

Its force could have effortlessly bisected a fortress wall forged of ten-thousand-year cold iron.

Even Jeong Yeon-shin had never seen such a long-range sword technique before.

It had to be a named sword move.

Perhaps Heaven-Filling Sword Sea—the technique used to slay the demon of Fujian and extract its inner core more than a decade ago.

Sabak.

Such idle speculation swiftly left Jeong Yeon-shin’s mind.

With unprecedented lightness, he stepped into the path of the shockwave.

Only after his sword extended forward did the leaves beneath his feet crumble.

Yeoroe sang.

The blade’s luminous energy rippled like a transparent tidal wave, sketching a vast circle in midair.

Uuuung—

At a glance, it appeared to be an exceptionally fluid Taiji pattern, yet its formation speed was insanely fast.

There was no explosive impact or shockwave from the collision.

“...Oh?”

The Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

And in that brief instant—

Jeong Yeon-shin subtly twisted his wrist around his sword hilt.

In that moment, Final Thunderclap’s earth-shaking force surged into the energy he had deflected, and Yeoroe, now sheathed in translucent lightning, let out a low growl.

Kurung—

Jeong Yeon-shin’s figure blurred.

Crack!

In a mere fraction of a second, his sword had risen once more—

And the Lord of Celestial Extremity Gate’s conical hat was torn to shreds.

“......”

The thirty-pace distance remained unchanged.