Surviving as a Genius on Borrowed Time

A chamber with an open ceiling.

It was immense in scale.

Carrier pigeons, bred through the mystical arts of the Myung lineage, flew about like migratory birds, dropping various messages. Meanwhile, over a hundred scholars sat in silence, poring over documents and swiftly moving their brushes.@@novelbin@@

It was a place of secrecy—the headquarters of the Shadow Order.

“I will hear the report. Summarize the movements of the Commander of the Divine Sword Corps.”

A figure, wrapped entirely in black robes like the night sky, spoke. He was the master of the Thirteen Heavens’ Shadow Order, a man whose wide-brimmed hat concealed his jet-black beard.

The moment he stepped into the grand hall, there was only one thing he needed to confirm.

The Commander of the Divine Sword Corps, who had ultimately escaped from the Heaven’s Net Formation, even though it had included three of the Thirteen Heavens’ greatest masters. The chase had dragged on endlessly, like a monsoon refusing to end.

A man whose martial skill stood at the peak of the world—his life force was astonishingly tenacious.

‘That footwork… I had never seen anything like it before.’

The Shadow Lord’s eyes traced back to the past.

The Commander of the Divine Sword Corps of Ipwang Fortress.

His explosive speed.

It was not the movement of a poisoned man. The radiant aura that trailed beneath his feet—a signature of the current Commander—had been unmistakable.

It was different from the usual unwaveringly stable footwork that could allow one to run forever.

Rather, it was as if he had fully tapped into his Dragon Eye, the legendary vision said to allow its wielder to perceive a thousand trajectories at once.

The Shadow Lord had watched as the Commander narrowly dodged his own strikes, evaded the Supreme Blade of the Namgung Clan, and escaped from the barrage of arrows fired by the Lord of Dark Night's infamous archers—all while carrying a blue-robed warrior under his arm.

The chase had continued from that moment onward.

Looping around the region while heading south, he unleashed surges of aura-powered acceleration at will.

It was impossible to believe he was poisoned.

—How do I counter his movement?

That was the Shadow Lord’s greatest dilemma. How could he construct Heaven’s Net in a way that could cripple the Commander’s legs?

He had even sought advice from the Broad Scholar of Nine Provinces, said to be the most knowledgeable man in the world. Yet, all he received was a question laced with age-worn laughter: