Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

Chapter 97 – Divine Sword Squad (3)by Heavenly Cat

Jeong Yeon-shin wasn’t particularly offended.

The Divine Sword Group Leader didn’t retreat because of a promised reward. It just happened that way.

Rather, the disconnect from the Group Leader’s multifaceted personality was more striking.

The absolute master who demonstrated divine might was talking like a frivolous person. It was truly awkward.

“Group Leader, you pulled a trick. Complete deception.”

Yeon Soha frowned as she continued speaking.

“I knew it would be like this. It’s always like this. The ones who bring shame to the main squad are Grandmother Evil and the Group Leader. You’re lowering your dignity to rock bottom in front of a junior you just met.”

“No, it wasn’t a lie.”

The Divine Sword Group Leader shook his head.

“Lightning Genius. I hope you don’t misunderstand. I was talking about our relationship with the Divine Sword Squad. Something worth being proud of…”

“Such shamelessness. Seems convenient for treating the internal injuries from the fierce battle.”

Yue Shou-lin, standing with one leg bent, said with a smirk. Her attitude was like that of a town ruffian.

With a girl’s face similar in age to Jeong Yeon-shin’s, she mocked the Divine Sword Group Leader. The boy thought she too was peculiar.

“This Group Leader keeps his promises. How about it? Traveling with the main squad until we pass Xiangyang?”

“Can’t go to the main fortress. There are continuing duties. It’s always like this… no time to rest.”

Yeon Soha quickly interjected.

“…”

Jeong Yeon-shin didn’t answer. He just stared blankly at the Divine Sword Group Leader.

As their gazes met, the Group Leader slightly turned his head while adjusting his purple garments, a stark contrast to his appearance during battle.

That’s when it happened.

It started subtly.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly felt vibrations beneath his feet. Different from the aftershocks of the battle.

It was a strange rumbling that seemed to rise from very far away. Slowly, faintly, it layered and dug into the soles of their feet.

“Ah…?”

Yue Shou-lin’s face changed to bewilderment.

The sound coming from above was unsettling. It was gradually getting louder.

In less than a breath, everyone present seemed to sense it.

Simultaneously, the crowds stretched along the ridge began to scatter, each shouting.

“Mountain god…! The mountain god is angry!”

“Could this be divine punishment for Desolate Fortress’ evil deeds!”

“Landslide! It’s a landslide!”

The voices of those who lived off Namgung Family of Huizhou mixed in. But no one paid attention.

“We should leave now?”

Yue Shou-lin’s dazed mumbling was the start. Energy waves rose from the bodies of Divine Sword Squad masters including Yeon Soha and the Group Leader.

“This is all because the Group Leader had such a flashy fight with the Namgung Family Head…”

“Move to the rear! Take care of White Qilin first!”

The word landslide was right. Dust rose from several huge peaks flanking Clear Night Valley.

It was an extremely thick and massive yellow-brown dust cloud. Rocks and soil began to slide down together.

Rumble!

Jeong Yeon-shin also glanced sideways at Namgung Hwa-shin first. A senior member of the Divine Sword Squad with a towering physique was carrying him like a bundle.

The duel’s end came from nature itself. It was a disaster brought on by the fierce battle between the Divine Sword Group Leader and the Namgung Family Head.

‘With human bodies, they created a natural disaster.’

Pak!

Jeong Yeon-shin ran alongside the senior carrying Namgung Hwa-shin. He was a handsome middle-aged man.

He smiled at Jeong Yeon-shin, then startled when he saw Ma Yeon-jeok keeping pace beside the boy.

“What are you doing! Did you trade your martial energy for a slug’s?”

Yue Shou-lin, running ahead, sharply called back.

Running with a spear strapped to her small back, she appeared the most composed among the Divine Sword Group warriors.

Even while running, she kept turning her body this way and that. Only her face was that of a young girl. She watched over the masters like everyone’s mother.

Rather, the faintly smiling Divine Sword Group Leader was the problem.

His movements were sluggish. Considering his martial arts supremacy, it was truly hard to believe, but he actually seemed to be struggling to keep up.

His ki energy, which had been absolutely neat and orderly, was now becoming tangled like thread.

Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes widened slightly.

‘The Group Leader’s internal injuries are severe. The qi consumption too… I can’t even estimate it.’

He recalled the moment after the Namgung Family Head’s death. Yue Shou-lin had casually told the Divine Sword Group Leader to compose his breathing technique.

It was in broad daylight with countless martial artists watching. What would be the weight carried by the strongest warrior under the Desolate Fortress Lord?

Jeong Yeon-shin newly realized Desolate Fortress’ position.

They must not show weakness to anyone.

Showing vulnerability in front of the various martial arts sects? From that moment, the challenges Desolate Fortress would face…

‘It’s unimaginable.’

The boy thought.

And he became completely certain. That the Divine Sword Group Leader was now hiding his internal injuries with superhuman endurance as much as his martial might.

He imagined the other side of the duel that ended with overwhelming speed. There must have been a desperate all-out effort by the Divine Sword Group Leader.

They said each of the Eight Family Heads could act as an absolute being in the murim.

Could any warrior face the Namgung Family Head and remain unscathed? Besides the transcendent Desolate Fortress Lord, no one else came to mind.

Even with his very limited knowledge, that was true throughout the central plains. The Divine Sword Group Leader who escaped with just severe internal injuries was an unrealistic existence.

“Group Leader, shall I carry you?”

Yeon Soha said lightly.

***

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Translated by Nine Heavens!

***

Jeong Yeon-shin wasn’t the only one who noticed. The Divine Sword Squad was Desolate Fortress’ premier fighting force. There were many with insight no less than the boy’s.

Just because their leader didn’t show it, they couldn’t fail to perceive the purple master’s unnatural state.

Many had already quietly surrounded the Divine Sword Group Leader.

“Hmm. That would be too conspicuous.”

The Divine Sword Group Leader didn’t deny it.

“Don’t talk to me, all of you. It’s difficult.”

He spurred himself on while joking. His extremely thick thighs seemed to move his body with pure physical strength.

Unlike his scholarly appearance, his body was highly trained. However, his qi energy didn’t seem to be supporting him.

STEP!

Jeong Yeon-shin moved slightly forward.

Up close, it was clearly visible. Each step he took was very heavy. At this point, it was a matter of stamina.

Rumble!

“We need to get somewhere out of sight quickly.”

Yeon Soha muttered amid the thunderous sounds pursuing them.

She appeared to be one of the actual youngest members of the Divine Sword Squad, but her usually light and airy demeanor had disappeared.

Yue Shou-lin was the same. She kept glancing at the Divine Sword Group Leader while irritably flicking away her flowing hair.

“Faster! We don’t know how far this will spread!”

“Those, those are from Desolate Fortress? Already here…”

Meanwhile, many warriors were fleeing through the paths between Clear Night valley’s ridge and ravine.

All of them were trained in lightness skills. Their sidelong glances at the Desolate Fortress masters, including the Divine Sword Group Leader, were unsettling.

Huizhou of South Zhili was entirely Namgung Family territory. How many would have grudges intertwined with the direct lineage members who died today?

There would also be countless others bound by favors and mutual interests as much as grudges.

“If we could just do one true qi circulation, it would get a bit better…”

Yue Shou-lin slightly bit her lip. The Divine Sword Squad’s speed was too slow for their reputation. It was because they were matching pace with their Group Leader who had fought the fierce battle.

“Only the Group Leader himself could do that while running with lightness skills.”

Yeon Soha whispered while scanning the surroundings.

Among the martial artists fleeing from nature’s wrath were masters.

It meant some in the crowd had enough composure to look around. That made it dangerous.

At this speed, if they kept the Divine Sword Squad in sight, they would inevitably grow suspicious.

‘It’s fortunate we’re quite far away. Even masters couldn’t hear normal voices at this distance.’

It would be better if it were in front of common people. But the head of Desolate Fortress’ Divine Sword Group must not appear weak to martial artists.

Boom! Rumble!

Now the inner walls of the ravine were collapsing. The rage of nature triggered by martial arts approached as an unstoppable disaster.

Jeong Yeon-shin observed the expressions of the Divine Sword Squad masters. The composure that had seemed capable of joking even if the sky fell was fading.

This was a crisis. With all eyes of the martial world on this incident, there would be no small number of those openly hostile to Desolate Fortress.

‘Assumptions and certainty are worlds apart.’

That two or three of the Eight Family Heads together could kill the Divine Sword Group Leader? Anyone could say that.

Not many would deny it. The history of the murim had shown:

Even if one’s martial arts reached the heavens, challengers would always appear.

But actually showing weakness was different. The time and place were also special.

“Group Leader, breathe properly! We’re in big trouble! After all the chaos you’ve caused!”

“There are an enormous number gathered here. Seems like three or four of the Thirteen Evil Sects came to watch. If things go wrong, there’s a crowd of b*st*rds who’d bury us first in a joint attack. Without the Group Leader, it’s immediate bloodshed.”

“Baek Girin will surely die.”

The Divine Sword Squad masters including Yeon Soha called out desperately through their breaths.

It was almost comical. Jeong Yeon-shin thought calmly. They should just use sound transmission instead.

The Divine Sword Group Leader chuckled and put strength into his body. Long breaths escaped through tightly closed lips.

It looked like a wounded tiger pretending not to be while fleeing.

Because packs of wildcats were running together in all directions. Desolate Fortress was fundamentally the enemy of the entire murim.

The Nine Orthodox Sects including Zhongnan and Shaolin, who had treated Jeong Yeon-shin cordially, were exceptionally righteous.

“Grandfather.”

“Speak, Yeon-shin.”

Ma Yeon-jeok answered calmly. Running beside them, he looked like an unorthodox immortal.

“Can’t you simultaneously use lightness skills and true qi circulation to calm internal injuries? You’re also a purple master, Grandfather.”

Jeong Yeon-shin asked directly. At the purple level, all three dantians should have been cultivated to the extreme.

Dividing internal energy use was absolutely in the realm of sensation. It was usually beyond common sense. This meant the upper dantian was heavily involved.

“…It’s difficult right now.”

After a moment’s silence, Ma Yeonjeok continued.

“Ma family martial arts are truly rough and fast. They build quickly and disperse early. Unlike the orthodox arts of the Nine Sects, maintaining skill level is difficult. It’s just easier to build extreme martial might in youth.”

“That’s why you’ve been Group Leader since you were a green youth.”

Yue Shou-lin, who had come closer, snorted and said. Ma Yeon-jeok’s eyes bulged.

“Green youth? Yue family brat, you were a snot-nosed blue kid.”

“Must be nice being old. What’s with ‘green youth’ and ‘snot-nosed kid’? Let’s maintain some dignity, our former Group Leader.”

She shot back before turning her gaze.

Her eyes met Jeong Yeon-shin’s through constantly flowing hair.

She flicked her jet-black hair, darker than her black robe.

“Hey kid. You have a way, right? You’ve been rolling those bright eyes around since earlier.”

“…Yes.”

“Come to think of it, you seem quite good at using your upper dantian? Your hand movements showed it. Your time perception was strange despite not entering the realm of ascension. Right! Hurry! Do it quickly!”

The black supreme master who had reversed aging indeed had exceptional vision.

Jeong Yeon-shin kept quiet for a moment. Meanwhile, Yue Shou-lin chattered urgently.

“Why? What’s the problem?”

“Having the Group Leader entrust his life gate point to a martial artist he just met…”

“What do you mean?”

The one who asked was the Divine Sword Group Leader. By now his rough breathing was showing.

At the same time, warning voices rang out from the left and right of the Divine Sword Squad formation.

“Those over there are from the Martial Dragon Association? They’re coming down the ravine. Seems they’re determined to check things out. If the Group Leader released one burst of energy, they’d turn right back.”

“The Deep Martial Alliance is also on the upper left. The Female Spirit and Blood Flame Sect too. Those blood demons just won’t be exterminated.”

Speaking of four of the Thirteen Evil Sect. While running, Yue Shou-lin stuck close to Jeong Yeon-shin.

Her qi energy made even her scent waft over strongly.

“Lightning Genius. Is that blue robe and flashy golden ‘Desolate’ character just decoration? If you don’t trust that, what can you trust? Group Leader, say something. This kid’s qi sense seems extremely extraordinary.”

“Lightning Genius. This seat permits you to lay hands on my precious body.”

The Divine Sword Group Leader was playful even in crisis.

Yue Shou-lin took Jeong Yeon-shin’s hand with her small hand.

There was not a hint of hesitation as she guided it to the Group Leader’s back.

Her palm, returned to a young girl’s body, was quite soft.

‘The calluses are shallow. Reverse aging isn’t all good.’

He thought while raising the Jeong family’s qi circulation technique.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

For reverse aging that completely removes a body built through long training, it would be something to consider only in old age.

Perhaps because they had crossed a great mountain, thoughts continued even as he placed his hand on the Divine Sword Group Leader’s back.

‘Old age…? Right. First I want to grow old.’

The boy wished. He also needed to live to contemplate the topic Azure Qilin had left.