Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

The rolling head was followed by the crumbling body of the Dark Heaven Emperor.

Thud.

“……”

For a moment, the entire battlefield froze. Even the martial masters of Taemo Mountain Fortress, who had been spreading a net of lightning-blue internal energy to reinforce their formation, suddenly halted in place.

An overwhelming silence swept across the land, and from the bottom of the hill, the voice of Cheongsu Jin-in, who had been sharpening his sword aura, echoed in disbelief.

"Was he executed…?"

It was none other than the head of Cheongseong Sect who openly displayed both shock and relief. And he had every reason to.

At this very moment, all across Hangzhou, vast fields had withered, and narrow streams had dried up. Ordinary citizens, witnessing these strange phenomena, had begun seeking the protection of government shrines, famous temples, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and Daoist sanctuaries, praying for peace in the city.

But it wasn’t the wrath of the Jade Emperor or a mountain god.

Those well-versed in the ways of Jianghu knew the cause of it all. The experts here needed no further explanation.

Each time the Dark Heaven Emperor cast a single technique, the grand gardens of entire estates would be reduced to barren wastelands.

Even uncultivated plains and low mountains were no exception. His massive spell formations devoured the natural energies of the land itself.

For supreme martial masters, this was even clearer.

And now—

The suction of energy that had been emanating from the Dragon Subjugation Ritual Formation had ceased. The ancient inscriptions that had been faintly glowing now crumbled like scattered dust beneath the rubble.

The howling winds that had once torn through the ears of the martial masters were gone, and the spell formation, which had been absorbing the natural energy through the Dark Heaven Emperor as its conduit, could no longer consume its prey.

It simply spun in place, tearing apart into meaningless fragments like sheets of paper.

Hangzhou had been restored.

"This is a blessing, truly a blessing."

Two breaths after the Dark Heaven Emperor’s head fell, a sense of wonder appeared on Cheongsu Jin-in’s face. A rare sight indeed, as the current head of Cheongseong Sect was known for his cold temperament, much like the late winter of Mount Cheongseong.

"Yes… so that was the new Violet’s Spatial Severance…"

His admiration was barely veiled. The once-tense battlefield seemed almost meaningless now.

And for good reason.

The Spatial Severance of supreme masters was a secret kept even among the great sects. Rumors occasionally spread, but it was so rarely seen that even in the most honorable duels between sect leaders, it almost never manifested.

It was, quite literally, a technique used only at the brink of death—an absolute culmination of one’s martial prowess.

Most sect leaders would never get the chance to witness it. Every master focused only on refining their own martial path.

A soft breeze whispered.

Standing midway up the hill where Jeong Yeon-shin had passed, the Peerless Sky Devil remained motionless.

She had raised her smooth, porcelain-like hand slightly. In the gaps between her fingers, jet-black flames flickered, shedding dark embers like crow feathers.

[Spatial Severance?]

She muttered.

[How could you possibly use Spatial Severance…?]