Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

Suddenly, So Cheonmujuk let out a quiet laugh from the side. Had she noticed the shift in Jeong Yeon-shin’s aura? Without hesitation, she turned her head.

[I wish the world would perish.]

The tip of her sharp nose brushed against Jeong Yeon-shin’s cheek. She completely disregarded the unspoken rules of martial etiquette, shattering the very notion of maintaining proper distance between warriors.

Like the Heavenly Demon of Chaos, as the Buddhist scriptures might describe, she whispered wickedly in his ear.

[Seeing how you’re trying to escape from here, I suppose you think differently?]

Jeong Yeon-shin kept his gaze fixed on the steel sword of Sambong Zhenren and finally spoke.

“Why should the world perish?”

[Because we are forced to live as dictated by the heavens. I was born with a talent I never asked for, and now, I’m fated to die young because of it.]

Whether they were ascended beings or still alive, it made no difference.

Gathered in this damp cave were three individuals, each possessing a level of talent rarely seen in history. The lingering darkness seemed to draw out their true thoughts.

Droplets of water dripped from an unseen stone wall. At last, the leader of the Ming Sect revealed her true intentions.

“And so?”

[If I’m to die, the world should end with me. At least that way, I wouldn’t feel as resentful. And I have the power to make that happen. I don’t want to cross the River of Three Paths alone.]

Demon.

The Ming Sect Leader laughed.

[Kid, I can truly sense the heavens. Fate exists. When one reaches the extreme limits of their energy in the Upper Dantian, they come to understand that the entire world is nothing more than a tangled mass of threads. And in that fate, we have no role. The heavens bestowed a destiny upon Bodhidharma, Sambong, and the First Heavenly Demon of our Sect, but not upon us. They were heroes born with heaven’s favor, but we were meant to be nothing more than stepping stones for history.]

Softly.

She pushed Jeong Yeon-shin’s shoulder and took a few steps back. For a moment, it felt as if her very being had moved in unison, the white sleeves of her robe rolling up slightly.

At some point, dense demonic energy had begun flickering around her wrist. It was so thick that it was as if she had become the very incarnation of demonic power itself.

[Even if we die, the world will continue. Is there anything more horrifying than that? We will feel nothing in the abyss of death, and the world we never had the chance to fully see will flow on like a river.]

“Stop saying ‘we’ over and over again.”

Jeong Yeon-shin was beginning to understand. The reason So Cheonmujuk cooperated with the Lord of Taemo Mountain Fortress.

She wanted to take the world down with her.

The Dark Heaven Emperor’s Tiger Dragon Art, which summoned the flood dragon, was merely one of her chosen methods. She had delayed her death through some unknown means and, at some point, had lost her sanity.

A true heretic.

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke nonchalantly.

“No friends, I assume?”

[What?]

“I suppose even the parents who should have cherished you have already closed their eyes.”