Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time Chapter 256

Rise (6)

Black leather shoes stepped on the dirt floor. Pine needles and frost crunched together underfoot.

A boy covered in black robes was climbing the slope. He was slowly looking around, carrying only a backpack on his shoulder.

Even in winter, the green mountains were very beautiful. It was the highest mountain in the Jinling Mountain Range.

Jeongyeonshin breathed in the cold air.

Every time a new, translucent breath escapes from her lips, it turns white in the sunlight.

The rays of light streaming through the trees hanging over the ridge were warm yet cold, like the life of a seventeen-year-old master who would die at the age of nineteen.

He felt life from the great nature spread out before his eyes. It was a place with extraordinary earth energy.

‘Taebaeksan Mountain.’

It rose to prominence overnight, instantly becoming a hot topic in Shaanxi.

The scale was different.

It was said that all the powerful people living on a land the size of a country gathered there.

Unlike Jeongyeonshin, the waves of energy from those who didn’t kill Kipa were covering the mountain range.

It was literally a crowd. Countless people gathered.

Regardless of gender, their behavior was different.

There were those with long swords draped across their backs, those with the ends of daggers dangling from their sleeves, those with swords attached to their waists and fancy tassels, those wearing heavy robes and exuding a heavy air of prayer, and dozens of renowned warriors who seemed to have come from each sect and were all dressed in the same attire.

There were not only well-educated swordsmen from prestigious schools, but also ronin who sold their martial arts skills in exchange for food items such as salt.

You could tell just by looking at his shabby appearance and the life-threatening prayers he was making.

They are wary of each other, showing no signs of hostility or even open hostility.

It was just like the air that blew. The smell of blood lingered in the iron of the sick. Even the vagrants who came after hearing the rumor about Yeongcho had experience with murder.

It was a scent of blood that would never go away due to the waves of internal energy. Just like it was on Jeongyeonshin’s Bukmyeong sword.

He arrived at the entrance to the mountain. It was a noisy place with people crowding the wide mountain path.

“You arrived just in time. There’s no one coming down. I didn’t hear anyone getting picked off.”

“Don’t believe the rumors. You can’t trust anyone here.”

“Just look at that mess. Even the nobles came without even showing off.”

As the noise was so loud, all kinds of stories could be heard.

We exchanged information appropriately, checking each other’s movements and breathing. It was already a battlefield.

“There is a story that the princes and princesses from the Ice Palace climbed the mountain in a line.”

“Ice Palace? Even if you’re joking, you have to make sense. This is Shaanxi, not the North Sea. How long has it been since the rumors about the Thousand-Year-Old Water Lily began to spread? At least, it’s something that can’t be known in advance in a land that’s far away.”

“Farmers are going to freeze to death! What the hell is this? The gods of the Volcano Sect and even the Sword Lord are coming! What else is impossible here?”

“Don’t talk about freezing to death so carelessly! You can call upon the Ice Soul God Palm! You can strike a sutra!”

It seemed like it wasn’t just people from Seomyeon who came.

I heard all kinds of dialects, some of which were difficult to understand.

Obviously something strange.

The land of the Ming Dynasty is enormous. Shaanxi Province alone is comparable in size to other countries.

It meant that the time it took to get to the center of the rumor was not ordinary.

Even Jeong Yeon-shin, as the Magwangikju, had heard rumors about the Millennium Hasuo early on. However, the mountain range with several peaks was already in ruins.

His eyes scanned the surrounding martial artists.

At first glance, they looked unusual, but most of them seemed to value food over martial arts.

‘It might be a little different if we go up. It looks like the masters of the Great Wave have come too.’

Jeongyeonshin took a step forward and entered the gap in the crowd.

It didn’t mix easily.

As they chatted amongst themselves, more and more people began to glance at the strange boy.

It’s not that I feel any special vibes.

Her jet-black hair flowed down to her shoulders and had a natural sheen, and her unusually beautiful face caught the eye beneath her eyebrows, which were thickly sun-drenched.

It was a facial feature that became more distinct as death approached.

It’s like limbs that change day by day.

His appearance was different from when he first obtained the rank of black. Only his eyes still looked old and lonely.

“Are you a noble family?”

“No. Look at your ears.”

“You seem to be of a fairly high status, and you seem to be able to use a sword. You are a disciple of a prestigious family.”

There were many people gossiping.

But it didn’t last long.

In a situation where those with rare appearances and superhuman strengths were everywhere, it was difficult to predict each other’s actions and to observe the terrain.

Above all, the stranger was too young.

“Even young swordsmen… … Everyone, young and old, male and female, are coming up here.”

“Let me just mind my own business. How many roots of sewage do you think there will be?”

“The commander is quite knowledgeable about order.”

The number of people who stopped chatting and started hiking gradually increased. It was with a sharp sense of vigilance.

He went up, scanning the people around him as if his eyes were filled with a sense of calm. He seemed ready to strike at any moment.

‘The rest of them have given up on the search. They plan on catching the person coming down with the sewage.’

It was when Jeongyeonshin moved her feet nonchalantly.

“Little brother! No, Your Majesty!”

I felt it. It was a call directed at me. Even the sound of someone running towards me was like that.

When I turn my head, a boy bows his head.

His tanned skin and steady breathing were impressive, and he stood out in the winter mountains wearing earth-colored hemp clothes. Wasn’t he cold?

Jeongyeon Shin stopped walking and opened her lips.

“What is your business?”

“My name is Jang Soon-il! Please use me as your guide! It looks like this is your first time here!”

He raised his head and did the aerial combat. The way he put his hands together looked a little awkward.

It seemed like he wasn’t used to everyday etiquette. People climbing the mountain would pass by and snicker.

At that time, Ma Gwang-ik-ju was not accustomed to talking to strangers who had no hostility towards him.

Jeongyeonshin’s head tilted slightly to the side.

“Why?”

“I was born here in Bogye (寶鷄) and grew up eating Sancho here, so I know the geography very well! I am a herbalist and a pharmacist! I have a secret method that only shamans have, and I can read the terrain very well! I already know the terrain where the thousand-year-old ginseng will grow!”

He tells stories in a flowing manner. The lively ups and downs of his tone are also pleasant to listen to.

It certainly seemed like the medicine would sell well.

Jang Soon-il’s appearance was captured in Jeong Yeon-shin’s transparent eyes.

Judging from his deep and gentle breathing, he has properly mastered the Samjaesim method promulgated by the imperial family.

It must have helped make the land a little more fertile during the famine. Its lower body also looked sturdy, as if it had climbed the mountain often.

A boy who would have been popular for his extraordinary talent if he had lived in Shinya-hyeon, where Jeongga-jang had established himself.

“What do you wish for?”

“When you find a water parsley, it tries to eat even a handful of dirt where its roots are growing!”

A certain story was revealed in the spirited answer.

Even after hearing Jang Soon-il’s introduction, many people passed by the two. It was seen as an unfounded boast between two people of the same age.

Simmani’s method of teaching is like a thousand-year-old ginseng, so no one can believe it. His very existence was like that.

The herbalist’s eyes that surveyed the terrain also accumulated with experience. The two of them were ridiculously young.

However, Jeongyeonshin’s eyesight, enhanced by the Sicheon method, saw beyond that.

‘Are you waiting for someone who catches your eye?’

That boy had some extraordinary qualities of his own. He had something innate. He was similar to himself.

“You can tell at a glance that he’s not ordinary.”

A hint of earnestness appears on his smiling face.

Taebaeksan Mountain had turned into a Bokmajeon. It was Dosan Geomrim. There was no way that the martial artists who could pierce through the swords of the martial arts world would have paid attention to the boy.

The masters of the martial arts world would have had much more reliable guides, whether through force or money. They would not have had the ability to use the upper-level swordsmanship of the Magical Sword.

“You can eat as much dirt as you want.”

Jeongyeon Shin nodded her head coolly.

* * *

Jang Soon-il’s skill in finding the way was truly extraordinary.

The way he stepped on the ground was different. With each step, the front of his feet moved three times.

It was said to be a process of tracing the veins connected to the primrose that had recently burst through the ground. In just one day, I entered a place where there were few people.

There was no unnecessary detail in his footwork. Even in Jeong Yeon-shin’s eyes, he looked like a fairly skilled player.

‘Let’s put our hands on the crown of the head.’

As I silently followed along, trivial thoughts began to come to mind.

It was the first time since she started training that she felt relaxed. Jeong Yeon-shin immediately raised her right hand.

When I slightly bent my wrist, the tendons on my wrist stood out. Blue veins extended from my forearm.

Damn it.

The gait slows down slightly.

The fine muscles surrounding his entire body were adjusted according to Jeongyeonshin’s will. To be more tightly knit, to maximize the effectiveness of the Neungbeop Gwangryungi.

‘I can’t stand this level of endurance.’

He waved his right arm slightly as if he was holding a sword.

Swish.

It was a repetition. The hand gradually became blurred. Jang Soon-il glanced behind him and saw the sight with his own two eyes, but it was a sight that was confusing.

“What is that?”

“training.”

“So, why here?”

“It has been said that the key to training is repetition, regardless of time.”

“Are you talking about the person who taught Confucius? The teacher?”

“No… all dull people do that.”

“yes?”

“There was something to learn. I just didn’t realize it.”

Jeong Yeon-shin answered all the seemingly pointless questions. Jang Soon-il was a very sociable boy.

Sabak.

The peaceful hike continued. At every bend of the mountain path, a clear air came in.

I was so focused on my training that I couldn’t expand my energy, so the winter scenery came into focus more clearly.

Even as an urgent cry rang out from afar, the yellow pine needles swayed gently.

“Blood Flame Cult! Blood demons of the Blood Flame Cult!”

Ahahahahahahaha―!

“Let’s avoid it.”

Jeong Yeon-shin said calmly.

It was just after I heard a smooth laugh. It was so familiar. It was a voice like rolling jade beads on a tray made of madness.

“This way, get out of here! The path is open… no, it’s blocked! You guys who are leading the way!”

A young man’s white face appeared above the ridge.

It was a later index with a dazzling spear held over a blue sleeve.

Did Jeong Yeon-shin misunderstand the way she slightly clenched her fist as the claw technique? Her reaction was very fast. The hand that was holding the spear was pulled back in an instant.

“It looks loose! I’ll break through this!”

A flash of light came from his hand. In an instant, the spear disappeared.

Waaa …

It was a well-thrown javelin. It was like a flash of lightning.

At that time, Jeong Yeon-shin was standing in front of Jang Soon-il and extending her right hand.

Boom! Saaaaak!

The changgeuk struck the center of the palm and let out a dull sound. A strong shock wave erupted.

At the same time that the surrounding bushes swayed left and right, the spearhead began to split from the tip. Silvery iron shavings released from the shaft scattered in all directions.

It was a moment.

The entire window was shattered and disappeared, along with the loud noises from up the hill.

‘I’ve definitely completed the intermediate tasks. The final goal is not there yet, though… … .’

Jeong Yeon-shin raised her head, carrying the bag behind her back with one hand. She felt a small sense of accomplishment.

Shihwamugeuksu, Hwan-gang.

It was in constant operation.