Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

The reattachment of his left arm.

Jeong Yeon-shin and the Physician worked through the night.

Restoring the Three Yang Meridians of the Hand—which connected the arm to the shoulder and the rest of the body—meant meticulously rejoining every blood vessel, nerve, and muscle fiber.

It was both a brief and an agonizingly long process.

As the procedure progressed, the Physician’s complexion visibly worsened.

By the time the sorcery-infused medical technique neared completion, his face had gone deathly pale, as though he might vomit blood at any moment.

"Elder, are you alright?"

He had mentioned earlier that he could feel the slaughter committed by swordsmen. It had not been an exaggeration.

Sharp-tongued, intolerant, yet brutally honest—he was precisely as the rumors described.

"Leave… I will be bedridden for at least three days."

"I will repay this debt."

"You dare speak of repayment after invoking the world itself? The only reason I even entertained this was because you are the next leader of the Divine Sword Battalion. Your time is no longer your own."

Then to whom did it belong?

There was no need to wonder.

The people. The common folk.

A sentiment reminiscent of the Ancient Sword Sage.

Having exhausted himself entirely, the Physician declared he would be shutting his doors for a while.

Even so, the crisp, refreshing aura that surrounded him never faded.

Unlike other Celestial Clans, his presence carried an unfathomable air of mystery.

"Not a man… but a living branch of the divine."

Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head.

There was no need to pry into the Elder’s origins or lineage.

Gratitude was enough.

At that moment—

"Bloodlines are truly remarkable."

An old beggar approached him as he basked in the morning sun within the Physician’s courtyard.

The faint scraping of straw sandals sounded against the ground.

Despite his ragged appearance, the weight of time exuded an undeniable dignity.

He was the leader of the Dragon-Head Beggars (Yongdubang).

The Beggar Sect was likened to a dragon’s head—its numbers stretching across the land, its history of culling masterless hounds as long as time itself.

Naturally, the leader of the Dragon-Head Beggars was always an unparalleled martial master.

Jeong Yeon-shin recalled Shin Hwang’s warning:

"The current leader of the Dragon-Head Beggars bears two great titles. Among them, The Radiant Divine Beggar is his most well-known. He is called so because his movement art is said to rival the speed of sunlight. He has mastered an exceedingly advanced pursuit technique—do not allow his hand to so much as graze you. The headquarters of the Divine Sword Battalion believes he has acquired the Ten-Thousand League Pursuit Incense."

Shin Hwang was a man of few words, but he pursued perfection in all matters.