Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

A blast of force exploded beneath Jeong Yeon-shin’s feet—the propulsion shockwave of his Heavenly Descent Strike.

His knee strike was bound to be blindingly fast.

Ma Gwang-ik, snapping back into focus, swiftly crossed her arms before her abdomen.

The manifested talons of an eagle, formed by her internal energy, clashed against each other, leaving behind golden afterimages.

A split second later, Jeong Yeon-shin’s rising knee crashed into them.

BOOOOOM—!

The earth shattered wide, scattering ashen-white stone dust in all directions.

The force of their clash dispersed even the airborne debris, leaving only the raw aftershock rippling through the battlefield.

"Do you feel it?" Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly asked. "By now, it should have grown stronger."

For the first time, Ma Gwang-ik’s brows furrowed slightly—a reaction she had not shown before.

Was it because she couldn’t end the fight as easily as she wished?

"Your energy waves don’t accumulate in my body," she said. "Each time they touch, they dissipate."

She was referring to impact energy accumulation.

Ordinarily, after repeated heavy blows, even a powerful martial artist’s body would gradually break down, their acupoints filling with the opponent’s energy.

But Ma Gwang-ik was an exception.

Her Heavenly Dragon-Slaying Art allowed her to absorb the essence of a Flood Dragon, preventing such accumulation.

Jeong Yeon-shin nodded slightly. A gesture with many meanings.

An old memory of his father, Jeong Ban-ak, surfaced in his mind.

"When suffering and hardship reach their peak, a reversal is inevitable. But your mother… my wife’s life… was nothing but suffering, all the way to the end. Completely, completely because of you… I wanted to bring her happiness."

The principle of reversal.

Today, it would be the key to hunting Ma Gwang-ik.

"If you keep forcing your body like this, you’ll be beyond repair," she said.

Her arms remained crossed, still blocking his knee strike.

Unlike before, she was finally on the defensive.

This was significant.

Even though Jeong Yeon-shin’s leg bone had twisted out of place from the force of their clash.

The blue flames surrounding Ma Gwang-ik’s entire body flickered with a sharp crackling sound, their embers scattering like feathers.

Her protective energy had grown even stronger.

A cold smirk touched Jeong Yeon-shin’s lips.@@novelbin@@

"As long as my heart remains intact, nothing else matters," he said.

"Even your heart might not endure," she replied.

"You worry too much."

Crack—

The dislocated knee, forced out of place from their clash, suddenly snapped back into alignment.

His internal energy bound his muscles tightly, forcibly setting his broken bones.

His mother’s lingering presence remained with him throughout this entire battle.