Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 436: Conclusion (1)
The absolute masters of the orthodox martial world turned their gazes to the figure standing behind the spectator stands.
A silhouette so vast it seemed to eclipse the entire sun loomed over them.
He did nothing—no gestures, no movement—yet his sheer presence radiated a tyrannical magnificence.
“......”
The scorching summer sunlight wavered violently around him, as if bent by his very existence.
It was as if space itself had been distorted.
A force field of sheer power enveloped his entire body, an aura so dense that it contained its own presence within it.
Ordinary perception techniques could not penetrate this field.
Even recognizing him, let alone gazing directly at him, was a struggle.
Among the crowd, only the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Grandmasters of the Nine Sects and the Grand Swordmaster were exceptions.
Thus, the audience was still frantically searching for any sign of Jeong Yeon-shin and the Sword Queen, who had vanished after their duel had shattered the battlefield.
Only a rare few were watching the movements of the highest-ranking martial artists instead.
“...How could such a being achieve Reversion to Purity...?”
The Celestial Twin-Wall Swordmaster, Cheongsu Jin-in, leader of Cheongseong Sect, murmured in disbelief.
His long ears twitched slightly.
His cold, indifferent expression—unshaken even after witnessing Jeong Yeon-shin’s sword technique—finally cracked.
Reversion to Purity was the state in which an individual reached the absolute peak of martial arts, returning to a form that seemed utterly ordinary.
—They say it has already been twenty-eight days.
But this man was different.
He radiated an aura of absolute dominance, not tranquility.
It was as if he refused to allow those beneath his level to even perceive him properly.
A bizarre, warped application of Reversion to Purity—something beyond mere transcendence.
—Some of you are old and deaf, so I will repeat myself. My grandson has wasted enough of his precious time because of your meaningless agreements. You will end this with the Sword Queen.
His voice shattered the air like successive thunderclaps.
Regardless of his status, there was no greater display of arrogance than this.
Cheongsu Jin-in furrowed his brows and slowly spoke.
Even if this man was an unfathomable master, the Grandmaster of one of the Nine Orthodox Sects would not be silenced so easily.
First, he sought to understand the situation.
“I have never heard of someone like you in the martial world. Perhaps my knowledge is lacking. Please, state your sect and name.”
—Who is that man?
A solemn response.
Not the answer he had expected.
He had addressed the unknown figure, yet the man had directed the question to the other Grandmasters instead.
Only then did Cheongsu Jin-in feel the strangeness of the situation.
He instinctively turned his head.
The youngest among them, Lady Yulha Nangnang, merely raised a brow slightly—an indication that she, too, had no idea who he was.
But the Abbess of Emei, Baek Yaksa-tae, was different.
A woman renowned as the greatest nun in Sichuan, her aged eyes trembled—a reaction that was almost unheard of.
“...Abbess?”
Cheongsu Jin-in swiftly turned to the other side.
Two more figures stood there.
For a moment, Cheongsu Jin-in doubted his own eyes.
The Grand Swordmaster was muttering something repeatedly under his breath, lips moving ceaselessly—yet his words did not change.
Not this... not this...
It was not a mantra.
It was not a Daoist invocation.
—Monk, why do you not answer? Your mouth seems perfectly intact.
Perched in midair like Sakyamuni himself, the Shaolin Abbot, Beomheo, simply stared in complete silence.
“......”
Armless, one-eyed, the Shaolin Abbot finally opened his mouth—his voice painfully slow.
“...Should I say this is enlightenment, or an increase in suffering? Perhaps my training is insufficient.”
—There is an order to all things. First, I will witness my grandson’s achievements. Then, I will deal with you.
The figure’s body dissolved into mist.
At the same time—
The supreme masters of the orthodox sects followed suit, vanishing into their respective defensive techniques.
Each of them seemed to slip into the fabric of space itself, like fish diving beneath the surface of water.
And in the end—
Nothing remained in the Grandmasters’ spectator section.
Only a few ripples of heat haze lingered in the air.
***
‘Not enough.’
Jeong Yeon-shin thought.
His opponent was a Grandmaster of the Nine Sects.
She was of the same generation as his grandfather, Ma Yeon-jeok, and now, temporarily, possessed a body that surpassed even her prime.
With age came experience, and with experience came perfected mastery—she was someone who had built a fortress of skill with time itself.
Jeong Yeon-shin had never expected to defeat the Sword Queen in a single strike. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
All he had wanted was to inflict significant damage from the very first move.
BOOOOOM—!
The gale of sword energy consumed everything like a raging storm.
Nothing else was visible but his opponent.
His attack had blown open the lower part of the spectator stands, shattering dozens of walls in succession.
He had nearly demolished the entire perimeter of the Green Jade Sword Arena.
And now—
Crack.
A deep fissure split across the thickest and outermost wall.
The Sword Queen’s back was pressed against the stone barrier.
Forced back against it.
Jeong Yeon-shin maintained his stance, his sword extended forward, pressing against her with full force.
At some point, the Sword Queen had placed her other hand on the end of her blade, reinforcing her grip with both hands to block Yeorae’s sword strike.
But now—her sword was no longer mere steel.
She had been pushed too far back, and her blade had shattered under the pressure.
In its place—
A brilliant blue radiance extended from the broken sword’s base, forming a new blade purely of energy.
It was impossibly dense.
‘Sword Qi.’
It was as though she had condensed starlight into the form of a blade.
Even among top-tier martial artists, most did not use this technique.
Those who had attained a sufficiently high level could achieve greater efficiency simply by channeling internal energy into their swords—rather than forming an external blade of pure Qi.
But for the Sword Queen, that common wisdom was irrelevant.
Her internal energy surpassed all conventional limitations.
‘This isn’t a technique that should be used lightly...’
Sky Cascade.
Of the five forms of Sky Thunder Slash, this, along with Azure Flame Eclipse, consumed the most Qi and stamina.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze darkened.
A numbing sensation crawled up his entire body.
He thought for a moment.
Should I press forward? Just a bit more...?
Cough.
Suddenly, the Sword Queen coughed up blood.
The moment her blood splattered against her sword, a faint white mist rose as it evaporated instantly.
Her left hand—the one supporting the blade—was coated in defensive energy, but the hand that had coughed the blood had none.
Jeomchang Secret Technique—Radiant Sun Heavenly Veil.
The invisible internal energy barrier surrounding her body was as unyielding as her sword Qi.
It would take at least seven layers of Resonant Force Strikes to break it.
There were other ways to inflict damage internally, but at this stage, landing an effective blow was far from easy.
“...Incredible. Truly incredible.”
Her voice was hoarse from the lingering coughs.
The Sword Queen, blood at the corner of her lips, locked eyes with Jeong Yeon-shin.
A sight both awe-inspiring and eerie.
Now, she was no longer being pushed back in this contest of sword energy.
They were inches apart.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Fragments of shattered stone crumbled from the cracked walls, falling with soft taps in the suffocating silence.
The breaths of the two supreme swordsmen blended, slow and steady.
Their internal breathing was immensely deep, long, and refined.
The Sword Queen, who had been caught completely off guard in the first exchange, was gradually reclaiming her breath.
The pinnacle of orthodox martial arts, where the longer one cultivated, the more unbreakable they became.
Her resilience was bordering on divine.
For the first time, Jeong Yeon-shin felt a trace of awe.
And then, the Sword Queen slowly spoke.
“What is the name of this technique?”
“Sky Cascade.”
“A single moment felt like eternity... Did you create it yourself?”
“Yes.”
At his calm response, the Sword Queen’s unblemished brow lifted slightly.
The strands of her loosened hair, cascading over her shoulders, swayed faintly.
It was the flow of her internal energy.
The internal power of supreme masters moved as swiftly as their thoughts.
“...To receive a brand-new divine sword technique never before seen in the martial world—it is an honor.”
She continued, her voice unhurried.
“There was a profound sorrow within your sword technique. A single strike imbued with spiritual resonance.”
Then, she declared—
“I acknowledge it. You are a Grandmaster who can contend for the world itself.”
Jeong Yeon-shin did not respond.
He had only recently donned the Violet Rank robes of Ipwang Fortress.
The phrase "contend for the world" was something he had heard before—but he still did not fully grasp what it meant.
More than anything, at this moment, he could feel something far more real—
The formless pressure emanating from the Sword Queen’s entire body.
The stone wall against her back cracked even further, splintering audibly.
“But the Huashan Gathering is an agreement made by the generations before me,” she said.
“I cannot lose to the Demonic Hero again. And even more so, I cannot lose to his descendant.”
“So, I ask you...”
“...What is it?”
The Sword Queen looked him in the eye.
“I have clearly suffered a great loss.”
Then, she asked—
“But do you have another move prepared?”
A deep, resonant hum echoed in the air.
The width of the sword Qi blocking Yeorae’s strike suddenly expanded.
The Sword Queen subtly twisted her wrist.
In the next instant, her blue energy blade flicked upwards—
TUNG!
A simple motion, yet it sent Yeorae’s blade recoiling into the air.
That small sword movement alone generated a semi-transparent gust of devastating force.
But by then—
Jeong Yeon-shin’s left hand was already glowing.
BOOOOOOOM—!
At the midpoint between them—
The air itself warped from the impact.
The explosion of energy gouged a deep crater into the battlefield, spreading out like a storm.
The stone wall behind the Sword Queen did not just crumble—
It erupted backward, disintegrating entirely.
The force of the shockwave sent dust and debris blasting in all directions.
And through the chaos—
The Sword Queen’s body was flung backward.
She had failed to fully negate the power of the Resonant Force Strike.
‘She must have suffered serious internal injuries from Sky Cascade.’
Jeong Yeon-shin rushed forward without hesitation.
The sheer intensity of the Sword Queen’s sword wind dulled his previous palm strike.
He needed to land a decisive blow.
And then—
BOOM!
The Sword Queen’s foot slammed into the ground.
The force of her momentum transferred into the tip of her blade as she was sent flying backward.
Sa-il Sword Style.
A surge of terrifying sword energy erupted.
It happened the instant before Jeong Yeon-shin could reach her.
In that moment—
A strange sensation prickled at his instincts.
Like an arrow aimed at his abdomen.
"Too late."
The Sword Queen spoke.
A single streak of blue light etched itself into the air.
A single thrust pierced halfway into Jeong Yeon-shin’s side before pulling back out.
Blood splattered—
Yet the sound of the puncture never came.
Only the soft thud of Jeong Yeon-shin staggering midair before landing on the ground broke the silence.
Only afterward did the explosion of sword energy roar through the air.
By then, the Sword Queen’s blade had already returned to her chest, poised like an arrow nocked onto a bowstring.
This time—
Her presence was no longer calm.
Though her appearance was still that of a youthful woman, the calloused fingers gripping her sword were trembling from the sheer force of the gathered energy.
Jeong Yeon-shin furrowed his brows.
His sword, Simgeuk Kirin, slashed upward from below.
BOOOOOM—!
The long arc of sword energy ripped through the dust in a straight line.
And in response—
Another piercing thrust.
The air along the blade’s trajectory vibrated violently, creating a sonic resonance.
It was a profound application of heavy sword technique.
And yet—
It was faster than Simgeuk Kirin.
CLANG!
Jeong Yeon-shin’s right shoulder snapped backward.
The blue streak of sword Qi had already vanished, leaving only trailing afterimages as blood sprayed across the sky.
His Violet Rank battle robes, which could regenerate on their own, being pierced repeatedly meant nothing.
What mattered was that—
He had been interrupted before he could even complete his sword form.
'She's fast.'
Jeong Yeon-shin suppressed the pain with sheer willpower.
There was no time for shock or tactical calculations.
Because at that very instant—
The Sword Queen's follow-up strike came crashing down.
Jeong Yeon-shin’s body vanished from its spot.
BOOOOOOM—!
The space he had occupied was obliterated.
Her colorless eyes, radiating a monochrome glow, darted to the side like a drawn blade.
A whirlwind spiraled in the air where Jeong Yeon-shin had twisted away, evading the attack.
Even as he was spinning midair, his sword was already slashing.
It was too fast to even call fast.
Sky Thunder Slash—Nine Walls Under the Stars.
The shockwave-laden strike tore through the Sword Queen’s waist sash as it passed.
Had she not stepped back at the last possible moment—
Her entire abdominal muscles would have been ripped apart.
And then—
It began.
FWOOOOSH! CLANG! BOOOM!
Their clash turned into an endless exchange of attacks and evasions.
Their afterimages overlapped, pierced through, and reformed over and over.
Each time a blue sword arc flickered—
The pure white streaks of Yeorae’s blade would intercept, press down, or violently deflect it.
The proverb of the "Three Impossible Things" in swordsmanship—
It did not apply to Jeong Yeon-shin.
For he had created his own techniques, bypassing conventional limits.
And the Sword Queen, in turn—
Did not question it.
They simply continued carving wounds into each other’s bodies.
The very earth trembled beneath them.
The air itself was now a maze of transparent shockwaves.
Before one wave of force could fade, another exploded in its wake.
'This feels... exhilarating.'
Jeong Yeon-shin thought absently.
For the first time, he saw the flow of the Sword Queen’s attacks.
The points where her thrusts originated—
They were clear as day.
Once, he would have sought a countermeasure.
But not now.
Despite his body being drenched in blood, Jeong Yeon-shin stepped forward without hesitation.
His accumulated experience, his innate instincts—
He knew exactly when the final move needed to be made.
'This is the moment.'
He recalled a night beneath the stars, when he had washed his twin siblings.
As his entire body bathed in blue sword light, he murmured inwardly—
Come forth.
A soft white glow enveloped his entire body.
The moment the Sword Queen stepped sideways—
She disappeared like a mirage.
And then—
She reappeared at his flank.
Her final form of the Sa-il Sword Style—Hou Yi Shoots the Sun.
BOOOOOOOM—!
A colossal explosion erupted from his side.
His defensive energy shattered into fragments of light.
But—
His flesh was not pierced.
As if invisible hands had briefly intercepted the attack.
The Sword Queen’s eyebrows lifted.
And in that moment—
Jeong Yeon-shin charged into her space.
With a footwork style he had once devised in deep contemplation upon his bed.
He hooked his foot inside hers, forcing her stance open.
At the exact instant her defensive Qi collapsed—
The force of eight layered Resonant Force Strikes flared brilliantly from his left hand.
With a violently trembling palm, he grasped the Sword Queen’s abdominal muscles.
At last.
“......!”
A single moment.
And then—
BOOOOOOOM—!
The force detonated.
A vibration so intense, it exceeded the range of human hearing.
The ground caved in, as if struck by a meteor.
The Sword Queen’s body was hurled through the air—
Until she slammed into a massive boulder.
Her defensive energy was utterly annihilated.
The sheer impact wreaked havoc upon her internal organs.
For a brief moment, the Grandmaster of Jeomchang lost focus in her eyes.
And yet—
She did not close them.
Because she could not.
Even through the unbelievable shock of defeat—
Something even more astonishing unfolded before her.
A presence had appeared.
A man in flowing pink robes was already approaching Jeong Yeon-shin.
A presence so immense that it stole the breath from her lungs.
And so—
Even as unconsciousness claimed her, the Sword Queen never closed her eyes.
