Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time-Chapter 406: Transcendent Realm (6)

Just as with Namgung Mu-jin.

When he had used the Moonlit Crossing of the Lord of the Dark Night to break through Namgung Mu-jin’s own Moonlit Crossing, it had been the same.

Now, even the kinetic force beneath his feet was being amplified by the Moonlit Crossing left behind by the Lord of the Dark Night.

"Something’s coming. Wait... is that a person?"

"Above! No—behind us!"

"Walking on air...?"

"Enemy!"

A commotion erupted below him.

The high-ranking warriors maintaining Heaven’s Snare—one by one, they snapped their heads toward Jeong Yeon-shin as he streaked across the sky.

Some instinctively raised their weapons—spears, daggers—only to hesitate.

The moment he entered their sight, he was already gone.

‘A large force. Is this Huaguo Mountain?’

Jeong Yeon-shin once again grasped the sheer scale of the Heaven’s Snare formation deployed by the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps.

Glimpses of the landscape flickered through his blurred vision.

Martial artists crouched in ambush along deserted paths, their postures lowered in readiness.

Swordsmen sitting in meditative stance, their weapons resting across their knees, forming a Combined Sword Formation.

Rogues disguising themselves as commoners in the ramshackle villages below.

Everywhere he looked, the land teemed with warriors.

A formation orchestrated by a single individual.

‘Yeoryeongju...’

A supreme master with a reputation for shrewd, underhanded tactics.

How many in the world of Murim could command such overwhelming force?

A man who only acted under conditions of absolute victory.

There wasn’t even a wanted poster with his face on it.

The High Blade Hermit of the Wudang Sect had attempted to track him, but had never succeeded.

Even the Head of the Qingcheng Sect had abandoned the chase, choosing instead to descend the mountain to protect the civilian populace—only to end up confronting the Lord of Gold Seals.

Once a supreme master focused on escape, capturing them became an impossibility.

The Lord of the Dark Night was no exception.

Despite being called the greatest archer under the heavens, he had stopped assisting Namgung Mu-jin long before the battle ended. He had been conserving his strength.

A man who prioritized his own survival above all else.

He had already been planning his escape.

And the only trace leading to him now was the very Moonlit Crossing Jeong Yeon-shin was chasing.

Screeeeech—!

A sharp cry rang out above him.

The screech echoed through the air, carrying an unmistakable hostility.

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t even need to look up to recognize it.

The dread avian that had guided him here at the behest of the Vice Lord of the Dark Night.

A famous spirit beast, worshiped as a divine creature by certain ancient tribes.

‘Dangerous.’

Jeong Yeon-shin shattered the Aura Ring of the Heart into countless fragments, pulling them toward his skin.

A faint, radiant halo enveloped his body the instant—

Bang—!

His right shoulder lurched backward.

An arrow had struck him.

The impact spread from his shoulder down to his chest—a sharp, numbing shock.

Even though his defensive energy had absorbed the brunt of it.

The arrow, unable to pierce his internal qi barrier, ricocheted off his shoulder and spun away.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s gaze sharpened.

Still streaking across the fading white threads of Four Paths of April—

‘The Lord of the Dark Night!’

The arrow carried a Peerless Penetration Technique.

An ability that, even when executed with a mere punch, would have been recognized as the work of a martial master.

And yet, this black-fletched arrow had bypassed his defensive energy entirely, detonating with a shockwave upon impact.

A direct hit.

Jeong Yeon-shin had stepped into the archer’s ideal range.

Normally, an arrow’s force would dissipate over distance. But this time—

It hadn’t.

Far from losing momentum, it had struck with unrelenting force.

In fact, catching one of the Ten-Mile One-Shot arrows fired from extreme range would have been easier.

And then—

Another...!

Jeong Yeon-shin lowered his stance.

At the same moment, an arrow whistled past his ear.

A thunderous air-tearing sound filled the space behind him—like the roar of cannon fire. His sideburns, caught in the trajectory’s suction, flared upward.

It was pure luck.

The Lord of the Dark Night’s arrows had become even faster.

And now, with Light Across Ten Miles accelerating his every step, dodging even a single shot had become nearly miraculous.

‘I must protect my head.’

The enemy’s archery could ignore even high-grade defensive energy techniques.

If he took a hit near his ear—where a grandmaster’s penetrative force could disrupt his inner balance—he would struggle to regain his footing.

Jeong Yeon-shin was not yet the greatest swordsman in the world.

But the Lord of the Dark Night was undeniably the greatest archer under the heavens.

That was how the world of Murim recognized him.

And so—

Crunch.

The tip of Jeong Yeon-shin’s foot twisted slightly outward as he stepped on the faint white strands of Four Paths of April.

A massive weight pressed against his thigh.

At this speed, such a maneuver should have been impossible—but his tightly woven muscles withstood the strain. His tempered bones and reforged sinews had been built precisely for such moments.

This was how he could use Byuncho to overcome the rigid, straightforward nature of Seomye’s Martial Pulse.

Though his naturally upright temperament had kept him from ever fully embracing such variations—

There was always a first time.

‘Now...!’

From the Haehae Acupoint at the front of his ankle, a transparent shockwave burst forth.

Snap!

His straight-line trajectory blurred for an instant.

One of the black arrows shot straight through the mist-like afterimage of his body. The air shattered with a violent rip.

And yet—

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An intrigued glint flickered in Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

‘So this is Byuncho of the Reflex Nerves...’

He had diverted some of his propulsion force elsewhere. The principle was not complicated—

Simply lowering his body and rotating.

Momentarily slowing his speed, only to reclaim it in an instant.

A technique executed in a mere fraction of a second.

How had it looked to the enemy?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The Lord of the Dark Night was said to possess an unrivaled sight technique befitting his title.

Even now, he was undoubtedly watching this unfold with perfect clarity.

If their roles had been reversed—

Jeong Yeon-shin would have found it infuriating.

A faint satisfaction glimmered in the young swordsman’s gaze.

In truth, he had suffered more from this archer’s bow than from Namgung Mu-jin’s sword.

Was this the difference between the second-in-command of the Thirteen Heavens and its supreme leader?

Ever since the Lord of the Dark Night had begun his escape, a quiet fury had been smoldering in Jeong Yeon-shin’s chest.

Today, by any means necessary, the greatest archer under the heavens would die.

Under the banner of Ipwang Fortress’s Divine Sword Corps.

‘With rightful cause.’

Swoooosh—!

Three black arrows flew at once.

Their overwhelming force left three distinct trails of colorless turbulence in the air.

Boom—!

Yet once again, Jeong Yeon-shin’s blurred silhouette scattered into mist.

And the sound that followed was singular.

A crushed arrowhead, shattered upon impact.

The remaining two streaked past him on either side, carving deep, violent air tunnels before vanishing into the distance.

Jeong Yeon-shin exhaled a long breath.

The force of those arrows had filled the gaps between his ribs like a bolt of lightning, shaking his very organs.

The archer’s kinetic energy was intensifying.

And yet, his true qi should have been greatly depleted by Moonlit Crossing.

The distance was closing. It was certain.

‘I’m almost there.’

Jeong Yeon-shin did not stop running.

Like a legend’s depiction of a Heavenly Step, his form blurred and sharpened repeatedly—

Until he became one with the transcendent Four Paths of April.

How long had he been running?

Though the days had lengthened with the season, dusk had already begun to creep across the sky.

The last hues of sunset cast a faint glow over the billowing violet robe.

By now, Jeong Yeon-shin had endured thirteen out of sixty-seven arrows.

His gaze had sharpened to its limit—

And then—

Far ahead.

A figure appeared.

The instant Jeong Yeon-shin perceived him, the distance between them shrank.

A silhouette traversing treetops as though they were solid ground.

Faded white hair. A wide, black robe fluttering behind him.

A large bow slung across his back.

And strapped to it—

A classic sandalwood quiver, carved in an ancient style.

Bow of the Fire-Taming Fiend.

A redwood body, slightly curved at an angle.

A deceptively simple design—

Yet unmistakably the symbol of the greatest archer under the heavens.

As famous in Murim as the Dog-Beating Staff of the Beggars’ Sect Leader.

"Impressive."

A rough, low voice reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s ears.

Their eyes met.

The Lord of the Dark Night, his gray pupils gleaming, moved like the flicker of a moth’s wings.

By the time Jeong Yeon-shin registered it—

An arrow was already nocked.

The archer’s torso twisted slightly, his bow drawn.

And aimed directly at Jeong Yeon-shin.

"You arrived far too quickly."

"But what if that was exactly what I wanted?"

The Lord of the Dark Night pulled his bowstring taut.

The creaking of drawn tension reached Jeong Yeon-shin’s ears.

This was no ordinary draw weight.

From the arrow’s fletching, a spiraling vortex extended outward, violently scraping against the ground.

Wuuuuung—

A strange reaction—

The white threads of Four Paths of April beneath Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet quivered, then sank into the arrowhead.

He had no choice but to step onto the branches.

The Lord of the Dark Night’s eyes seemed to speak.

You withstood the combined assault of two supreme masters. You even slew one of them.

That should have been enough.

At this moment, Jeong Yeon-shin’s defensive energy was at its weakest.

He had endured battle after battle—

And still chosen to give chase.

This time, the arrow might go all the way through him.

Tension filled the space.

The drawn bowstring hummed—

And Jeong Yeon-shin remained silent.

The two figures halted their Light Movement.

Each landed ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ on a tree branch, separated by several dozen jang.

Between them, caught within the swirling vortex of the arrow still nocked on its string, their gazes locked—measuring, calculating.

Supreme martial masters gauged their opponent.

Neither was at full strength.

The traces of their weakened qi rippled subtly between them—too faint to conceal.

"No sect could remain unscathed after losing a warrior of your caliber. Your death will mark the beginning of Ipwang Fortress's fall."

The Lord of the Dark Night spoke in an old-fashioned manner, fitting for a faded noble lineage that had weathered centuries.

His concentration, said to be among the greatest in Murim, was unwavering.

Even without emotion in his gaze, his insight was razor-sharp—he had already seen through Jeong Yeon-shin’s depleted internal strength.

"No shame? Even after joining forces?"

Jeong Yeon-shin asked quietly.

A faint curve touched the archer’s lips.

"A warrior’s battle—seek that from the Lord of Heavenly Extremes. For me, martial arts are merely the foundation upon which a fallen kingdom may be restored. The honor of the warriors of Murim? Worthless. Your Ipwang Fortress is no different. When a constable arrests a bandit, does he call it honorable combat? I have merely returned the favor in kind."

"A black path scoundrel. At least you know yourself."

“...But your prowess in breaking through my interference and slaying Namgung’s First Sword—I acknowledge that. As a warrior, I have lost."

Then—

Without warning.

The Lord of the Dark Night released the bowstring.

A simple motion.

Yet the air itself shrieked as it was torn apart.

The killing shot of the Supreme Leader of the Thirteen Heavens.

He had made up his mind—Jeong Yeon-shin had to die.

Even as the arrow was loosed, the archer’s hand had already drawn another from the Fire-Taming Fiend’s Bow.

Everything happened in slow motion to Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes.

A single exchange to decide life and death—

An arrow hurtling toward his forehead—

‘Ah.’

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly realized.

The Lord of the Dark Night was just as tense as he was.

Neither of them had looked up.

Both had been too fixated on each other.

And so—

Someone fell between them.

An intruder.

Their presence descended like a shadow.

A masterful application of internal energy control.

Had they been waiting for an opening?

They had completely concealed their presence, only to release their stored energy in a single instant—

And forge it into a blade.

A sword, brimming with eerie, demonic vibrations.

Drawing closer—

Their robes billowing with elegant precision.

CRACK—

There was no time to hesitate.

Jeong Yeon-shin kicked off the tree branch.

The force of his propulsive wave shattered the wood beneath him, sending splinters flying in his wake.

He shot forward in a straight line.

SWAAEEEEECK!

The moment Jeong Yeon-shin stretched his arm upward, the Blood-Drenched Demon Blade of the Dark Night—the ultimate secret technique of the Crimson Blood Path—formed in his grasp.

A sword of crimson mist, coalescing within his distorted silhouette midair.

A technique passed down by Jin Myeong-jo, the Grand Demon of Divine Blood.

Perfectly aligned within the trajectory of the arrow.

SLASH—!

A crimson line was etched into the air.

It split the black arrow in half.

And continued—

Carving a single, luminous arc through the Lord of the Dark Night’s throat.

The delayed shockwave swept past—

And his head fell.

Thump.

A dull sound.

His severed head rolled across the dirt, his wide-open eyes staring at the sky—filled with shock and despair.

His lifeless body crumpled atop it.

Saaaa—

A dry midsummer wind exhaled.

The cooling breeze swept across the ground.

And behind Jeong Yeon-shin, his violet robes fluttered in the fading dusk.