Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

The night was deep and blue.

By the time Jeong Yeon-shin and his group arrived at Hahoe Wi-jin’s village, the sun had already set.

The pitch-black night sky of the formation was filled with softly glowing stars. Whether they were real or not was uncertain.

“……”

Before the cold anvil,

Jeong Yeon-shin saw the Tang siblings standing in the faint night mist.

They looked as though only the husks of their bodies remained. They wore smiles, but the usual liveliness was gone.

Their faces were paler than the starlight above, their hands gripping hammers as they stood firmly on the ground—only their posture seemed resolute.

“They forged the sword and perished.”

Hahoe Wi-jin spoke in a calm tone. Perhaps because he had just received word of Suncheon Ik-ju’s death, his voice was slightly hoarse.

Cheon So-so, standing beside him, remained quiet as well. Though she had no personal ties to the Tang siblings, she had witnessed the deaths of many comrades over countless missions.

For a very long time.

But Jeong Yeon-shin was different.

Without a word, he stepped toward the siblings.

Step.

A slow, deliberate pace.

Even before he could consider how they had met their end, the upper energy center in his mind whispered a realization to him.

Jeong Yeon-shin immediately grasped what had transpired.

Mental Overload.

They had pushed their minds to the limit.

Forging the blade, tempering its surface, meticulously refining its balance, and pouring their spirit into the weapon—all while pushing beyond their capabilities.

Just as he had, when he first founded the Swordsmithing School.

Had they known?@@novelbin@@

With each strike of the hammer, had they felt death approaching, step by step?

“We tried to retrieve the bodies, but even with four strong men lifting together, they wouldn’t budge. It seems the remnants of the sword’s spirit have taken root in their feet.”

A short old man quietly stepped forward, stopping beside the fallen siblings.

The village’s former chieftain.

His face, deeply lined with wrinkles, bore the wisdom of age. He glanced at the Divine Beast King before looking at Jeong Yeon-shin, unable to hide his astonishment.

“You’ve truly altered the order of this land. Even here, Ipwang Fortress is still Ipwang Fortress.”

“Did they leave any last words?”

Jeong Yeon-shin asked without looking away from the siblings.