Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

Different Void.

It was a martial art born of Jeong Yeon-shin's deep-seated resentment.

He had been powerless, unable to stop So Cheonmujuk from taking Baek Mi-ryeo. Until now, he had never harbored such a grudge against a technique itself.

He still didn’t know how to use it properly.

It was an advanced martial art. Even if he understood its mechanics, without the necessary intent from the mnemonic chant, it was difficult to manifest. Unlike the likes of the Supreme Outsider Sword or certain sorcerers, he couldn’t simply teleport to where he wished.

However—

When masters of spell-based martial arts attempted to flee a battlefield, or when someone used formations to distort space to escape his grasp—

Now, he could follow them.

He could track the traces they left behind, the remnants of their inner energy.

It was through this principle that he had managed to pull Great Master Wonjeok from whatever unknown space he had vanished into.

Now, escape through the Different Void was meaningless before Jeong Yeon-shin.

Unless the distance was as vast as what the Abbot of Shaolin had achieved with his Moonlit Void, they would inevitably face him again.

Just like now.

Step.

A soft footstep.

He stepped onto a leaf so large it could have been the roof of a thatched house.

The space was filled with a soft green glow, emanating from the lanterns that flickered gently all around. Before he knew it, Jeong Yeon-shin had positioned himself behind Chi Cheon-gung Baek.

She stood exactly as she had after loosing her arrow from the great bow, poised and dignified.

But only for a moment.

Like a fleeting storm, she turned, her sharp green eyes widening in shock.

Their gazes met.

“……”

Her eyes were a shade darker than her own hair.

Amidst their deep irises, streaks of colorless light flickered continuously, while the glow from the floating lanterns shimmered faintly over the bridge of her nose, as if they were fireflies.

The light illuminated her skin, pale and pristine as freshly fallen snow in midwinter.

Yet, to Jeong Yeon-shin, her beauty—worthy of legends—held another significance.

It was important.

"Master...?"

The Celestial Tree, Chi Cheon-gung Baek.

She bore an uncanny resemblance to the Lord of Ipwang Fortress.

Her features were sculpted to an otherworldly harmony, like a tale of the Natural Sword, a pinnacle of perfection—yet paradoxically, she did not seem unreal. Her facial structure was strikingly defined, her countenance sharply distinct. The only difference was that her eyes had an edge, as if the crescent moons at their corners had been honed to a blade.

That gaze alone spoke of her unparalleled mastery in archery.