Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 386: Society of Sacred Swords (2)

A blast of force exploded beneath Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet—the propulsion shockwave of his Heavenly Descent Strike.

His knee strike was bound to be blindingly fast.

Ma Gwang-ik, snapping back into focus, swiftly crossed her arms before her abdomen.

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The manifested talons of an eagle, formed by her internal energy, ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ clashed against each other, leaving behind golden afterimages.

A split second later, Jeong Yeon-shin’s rising knee crashed into them.

BOOOOOM—!

The earth shattered wide, scattering ashen-white stone dust in all directions.

The force of their clash dispersed even the airborne debris, leaving only the raw aftershock rippling through the battlefield.

"Do you feel it?" Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly asked. "By now, it should have grown stronger."

For the first time, Ma Gwang-ik’s brows furrowed slightly—a reaction she had not shown before.

Was it because she couldn’t end the fight as easily as she wished?

"Your energy waves don’t accumulate in my body," she said. "Each time they touch, they dissipate."

She was referring to impact energy accumulation.

Ordinarily, after repeated heavy blows, even a powerful martial artist’s body would gradually break down, their acupoints filling with the opponent’s energy.

But Ma Gwang-ik was an exception.

Her Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Art allowed her to absorb the essence of a Flood Dragon, preventing such accumulation.

Jeong Yeon-shin nodded slightly. A gesture with many meanings.

An old memory of his father, Jeong Ban-ak, surfaced in his mind.

"When suffering and hardship reach their peak, a reversal is inevitable. But your mother... my wife’s life... was nothing but suffering, all the way to the end. Completely, completely because of you... I wanted to bring her happiness."

The principle of reversal.

Today, it would be the key to hunting Ma Gwang-ik.

"If you keep forcing your body like this, you’ll be beyond repair," she said.

Her arms remained crossed, still blocking his knee strike.

Unlike before, she was finally on the defensive.

This was significant.

Even though Jeong Yeon-shin’s leg bone had twisted out of place from the force of their clash.

The blue flames surrounding Ma Gwang-ik’s entire body flickered with a sharp crackling sound, their embers scattering like feathers.

Her protective energy had grown even stronger.

A cold smirk touched Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips.

"As long as my heart remains intact, nothing else matters," he said.

"Even your heart might not endure," she replied.

"You worry too much."

Crack—

The dislocated knee, forced out of place from their clash, suddenly snapped back into alignment.

His internal energy bound his muscles tightly, forcibly setting his broken bones.

His mother’s lingering presence remained with him throughout this entire battle.

"Your pupils..."

Ma Gwang-ik’s eyes widened slightly.

To supreme martial masters, the way Jeong Yeon-shin manipulated his internal energy was as incomprehensible as a divine phenomenon.

And yet, it was clear—his raw durability and regenerative capabilities stood out even among them.

Even if he couldn’t instantly heal torn flesh, his fortitude was overwhelming.

"You created it, didn’t you?" she asked. "How did you devise this technique?"

"By remembering my departed parents."

Their conversation, despite the life-and-death struggle, was eerily calm.

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke again, his gaze steady.

Ma Gwang-ik seemed to pause in thought.

An exchange. He had given her a rare answer, so now he expected one in return.

"Is your Phantom Moon Technique truly one technique?" he asked.

"...Phantom Moon is time itself," she said. "It cannot be split into two. You wouldn’t understand."

Her torn sleeve revealed her bare shoulder.

Jeong Yeon-shin expanded his perception, taking in everything.

The endless blue highlands.

The mountains and caves, formed from her boundless energy.

Though evening should have fallen, the sunlight remained blue.

"Why did you target humans with your Phantom Moon Technique, rather than Flood Dragons?" he asked.

"Because the mortal world is messy," she said. "More often than not, the power meant for dragons must be used against strong humans."

Did she recall something unpleasant?

Her brows suddenly furrowed.

BOOM!

Jeong Yeon-shin was blown backward, kicking up a storm of dust and shattered earth.

His feet dug into the ground, stabilizing him.

Even though his bones had been reset, the pain in his knee lingered.

His mind, however, remained focused.

The Phantom Moon Sect had a history of human sacrifices and artifact plundering.

All in pursuit of unlocking the Flood Dragon’s sealed formation.

"It’s true. Phantom Moon truly is one."

Even his Baekhoe Acupoint whispered the same conclusion.

It was enough.

He had no more doubts.

Just as he came to that realization—

Ma Gwang-ik’s face suddenly filled his vision.

Her Dragonflight Thousand-Scale Art allowed her to close distances instantly, her body surging forward like a mirage.

A fleeting trace of her scent filled the air.

Then, her hands extended forward.

Each palm unleashed three golden talons, stretching like razor-sharp sword blades, distorting the very air itself.

WOOOONG—!

The ground rumbled violently.

With one mighty stomp, she reinforced herself, while simultaneously destabilizing Jeong Yeon-shin’s balance.

Her Phantom Moon Technique allowed her to twist space itself, carving six golden streaks through the air.

For an instant, the arc of her claw strikes bent dozens of times, each movement targeting a critical point on his body.

ZZZZT—!

Jeong Yeon-shin’s Lightning Blade surged into the chaos.

Dozens of clashes erupted from all directions.

His black battle robe, woven from Heavenly Silkworm Thread, was ripped apart.

The sensation of fabric tearing against his skin was soon accompanied by searing pain.

[You call me an unorthodox heretic.]

"......!"

[It is I who have been protecting this land.]

[Since the founding of the nation, do you even know how many monstrous, malevolent spirits have descended upon it?]

[The Flood Dragon stands at their peak.]

Her voice echoed in every direction, like a divine proclamation resonating through all six realms.

The earth trembled, the trees and rocks shuddered, exhaling bursts of powerful energy waves.

The Phantom Moon Domain, woven by Ma Gwang-ik, responded to her will.

For the first time, emotion crept into her voice.

It was as if she were offering a solemn requiem to an equal who would soon die.

Jeong Yeon-shin felt as though the entire world had turned against him.

WOOOOONG—BOOOOOM!

Every single one of her strikes began to cleave through time itself.

The force of her energy waves was explosive beyond comprehension.

Having already exchanged countless blows, she must have come to fully understand his talent and the power of his True Dominating Martial Arts.

She was done holding back.

Every strike was an ultimate technique.

Golden streaks of light, glistening like the bars of an inescapable prison, closed in on him.

Her blows rained down, tearing his flesh apart, sealing off all escape routes.

He could no longer deflect them perfectly.

The fight had changed.

The number of exchanges skyrocketed in an instant.

One hundred and twenty... One hundred and fifty... Two hundred exchanges...

She moved at the speed of golden lightning, like a divine roc soaring through the heavens.

She gave no time for him to break her techniques.

PFFFT—SHHHK!

Blood splattered in the air, carried by the overlapping shockwaves.

And then, his voice resonated across the battlefield.

[Are you not one of those monstrous spirits yourself?]

[What...?!]

Her golden eyes widened.

Even though Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips had not moved.

[You sacrificed the True Sky Sect's warriors alive within a formation.]

[You pillaged sacred artifacts and razed the homes of innocent villagers.]

[For countless years, you have left behind a trail of atrocities.]

[And yet, when you finally opened the formation, the Flood Dragon was nowhere to be found.]

The earth itself spoke.

The upturned dirt, broken trees, and scattered stones whispered the same words.

Even the distant cave hummed his voice.

Ma Gwang-ik’s hands froze.

"......."

[Even if you claim your cause was righteous, you still deserve death.]

Jeong Yeon-shin lowered his sword.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

His appearance...

His battle robe was completely torn.

Blood dripped down his sculpted abdomen.

The hem of his black martial attire, soaked in his own blood, had turned pitch black.

But he did not care.

They had exchanged enough blows.

It was time for a conclusion.

Ssshhk.

He half-closed his eyes, despite standing face to face with his greatest adversary.

He had observed Ma Gwang-ik up close, watching her activate the Flood Dragon’s Formation.

Unlike Zhuge Gaju, she manipulated natural energy in a different way.

Her methods were instinctive, fast—a level of mastery that allowed effortless control over mystic forces.

Naturally, her martial arts blended perfectly with her formation techniques.

Thus, he had already foreseen this collision.

If he was going to face it, he needed more than a simple countermeasure.

That was why, for days inside the Flood Dragon’s formation, he had observed, studied, and refined.

Even as he perfected his protective energy, he had constantly thought about her.

"Countering wasn’t enough."

Her martial arts were nearly at the realm of transcendence.

A warrior nearly perfected in the way of combat.

A few counters would not be enough to bring down her walls.

He had to rise beyond his current limits.

This was not a brief skirmish.

It was a battle to deepen his martial foundation.

That was why he had endured her Phantom Moon's oppression.

And now, he was ready to seize control of it.

[One question.]

[How are you...?]

[You said your energy suppresses all sacred forces.]

[...]

[Would you say the same thing to Dharma Master Dalma or Sage Sambong?]

[What?]

[It was a mistake to imprint me with the Flood Dragon’s essence.]

WOOOOONG—!

Jeong Yeon-shin activated his Radiant Wheel.

At once, something responded.

A mystical resonance—one that completed the synthesis of his divine energy and martial intent.

The Flood Dragon’s spirit, which Ma Gwang-ik herself had infused into him, now roared within the revolving wheel of his power.

Once inside his body, everything became his.

Even if it was meant to be temporary, even if it was not his own, he would claim it.

The moment Phantom Moon was invoked, an old drunken rambling of his father, Jeong Ban-ak, had surfaced in his mind.

"When an element reaches its extreme, it flips into its opposite."

"Your mother’s fate never allowed her that reversal... but you..."

What would happen if the Radiant Wheel absorbed the Flood Dragon’s spirit?

A sacred aura fused with a sacred entity.

The essence would be pushed to its absolute limit.

Moreover, he understood the secret martial technique known as True Blood Demon’s Silent Name.

A state without energy fluctuations.

A level known across the martial world as Vanishing Aura Realm.

The fusion of extremities.

It meant only one thing.

—A presence so divine, it leaves no trace.

From the moment the battle began, he had been subtly embedding energy into the very ground.

Yet Ma Gwang-ik had failed to notice.

Like how the Blood Flame Cult had once failed to realize that their formation had been coated in divine power.

At last, Jeong Yeon-shin fully unleashed the Radiant Wheel Technique.

[So this is what Dharma Master Dalma’s power must have felt like.]

WOOOOOOONG—!

Beneath him, multiple layers of white rippling light began spreading outward.

The ground was suddenly awash in a luminous, holy glow, as if divine waves had descended upon the battlefield.

The shockwave expanded into concentric circles, reaching all the way to Ma Gwang-ik’s feet without breaking.

Like the breath of a celestial being, it had no constraints.

"......!"

Her eyes widened in realization.

At that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin detonated all the energy he had secretly planted within her formation.

BOOOOOOOOM—!

A violent tremor surged to their feet.

Jeong Yeon-shin did not fully understand the profound mysteries of Ma Gwang-ik’s Phantom Moon Martial Arts. It carried an unfathomable weight of history and will, incomparable even to the Ghost Emperor of the Peng Clan, a master of ages past.

It did not matter.

It was enough to sense the foundation of the arcane battlefield and shatter every single keystone that upheld its structure.

To ensure that Ma Gwang-ik, having poured a vast amount of energy into her Phantom Moon, would not be able to reclaim her strength.

BOOM! KUUUUNG—! KWAANG!

The false landscape was collapsing.

The enormous cave, its jaws wide open in the distance, crumbled, dropping fragments of shattered stone as it caved in upon itself.

The towering trees, which once reached into the illusory heavens, snapped and toppled with a thunderous crash.

SABAK.

Through the billowing clouds of dust and debris, the two figures began walking toward each other.

[Our strength is now equal.]

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke, anchoring the fading essence of the Flood Dragon to his heart.

Each step he took sent forth pulsing white ripples, spreading outward like waves of divine energy.

Ma Gwang-ik, having expended a tremendous amount of internal energy, had now lost her absolute advantage. The battle would be decided through skill alone.

WHOOOOOOOSH—

A storm of energy gathered around her.

The natural aura coiled and twisted into a swirl of dim gold, an ultimate technique that had remained hidden throughout the battle.

Her body was now completely enveloped in a golden radiance, its form flickering like flames.

If the legendary Golden Roc had ever taken human form, it might have looked like this.

Even from a distance, her ferocity had transcended mortal limits.

‘If even one strike lands, I will die instantly.’

The moment had arrived.

One final blow.

Through one of the longest battles of his journey across the martial world, Jeong Yeon-shin had finally prepared himself to hunt the Golden Roc of Jianghu.

‘No matter what sorcery she unleashes—’

CRACK—

The Radiant Wheel in his heart shattered.

Tiny fragments of divine light spilled from his body like a celestial river, coursing through every meridian and muscle as he synchronized his breathing with the Heavenly Ten Thousand Flowers Method.

In that instant, a garment of pure radiance unfurled around him, cloaking his body in a shimmering mantle of starlight.

FWOOOSH—

But by then, Ma Gwang-ik was already upon him.

Both of her hands had descended in a crushing strike.

The golden glow surrounding her arms was no longer claws—it had spread wide like massive wings.

As she swept her hands forward, the fabric of space itself was torn apart, leaving deep scars in the air.

Their eyes met.

There was no warmth in Ma Gwang-ik’s golden gaze.

It was a strike beyond human limits—one that no defensive energy technique could endure.

A moment stretched into eternity.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes glanced upward.

The sky.

It was clear.

But false.

By now, the sun should have set.

The night sky should have spread across the heavens.

WOOOOOOONG—!

From deep within, a dragon arose.

It coiled around him, its form interwoven with the cloak of starlight that shimmered like silk.

His already deployed defensive aura, Pristine Starry Firmament, was now overlaid with Celestial Dragon Harmony.

It happened in an instant—the brilliant light flickered like the serpentine body of a dragon, spilling outward in a magnificent cascade.

“......!”

Ma Gwang-ik, who had been charging at impossible speeds, was suddenly suspended in midair.

She was ensnared within the very starlight that surrounded him.

It was not a technique to block attacks—it was a manipulation of balance itself.

He had seized control of her equilibrium, rendering her weightless in an instant.

[You once said my Heavenly Ten Thousand Flowers lacked years of refinement.]

In that moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s thoughts surged faster than the spoken word.

"You...?!"

Her lips twisted in disbelief.

For the first time, her voice had fallen back to mere speech, losing the commanding echo of Phantom Moon.

The world around them shattered like porcelain.

SSSHHHAAAAAA—!

The aura of starlight encircling them shimmered brilliantly.

It was as if he had pulled the constellations down from the sky, anchoring them to the earth beneath his feet.

And through the Phantom Moon’s essence, which had now fallen under his control, his true inner world emerged.

[Master Eun once likened his children to the stars, and that vision was passed down to me in the form of a robe.]

[And how does the starlight look to you?]

[Not very impressive.]

The voices of Jeong Yeon-shin and the Tang Family Patriarch echoed within the void—an old conversation from long ago.

A martial art’s essence is inevitably shaped by human memory.

And so, the culminating technique of Pristine Starry Firmament was named.

Despite all his contemplation, there was only one conclusion.

The martial world was filled with too many enemies.

The best defense was to ensure none could touch him at all.

[Rising Star.]

Jeong Yeon-shin whispered the name.

A bright new dawn.

A technique that had never been formally learned, yet now manifested naturally through his martial path.

KWWWWAAAAAAAANG—

The fragments of his aura spiraled upward, forming a tornado of celestial light that surged toward the sky.

It was powerful enough to pierce even the lowest firmament of Phantom Moon’s false heavens.

Ma Gwang-ik’s golden eyes widened in horror.

"No...! NO!"

At that moment, the storm of stars surged like an ascending Flood Dragon, illuminating the heavens.

WHOOOOOOOOSH—!

The celestial vortex of starlight and energy connected heaven and earth in a single, radiant pillar.