Just Hit Me Once (2)

It was a good opportunity to test the effect of the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill.

“Come!”

Gritting his teeth, Yu Jinsan performed the Thousand Weighted Stance. Otherwise, he’d be blown away like a kite in a strong wind.

At that moment, his granddaughter’s walnut-sized fist struck like lightning.

Screech-!!!

With a dull sound, a shockwave rose from Yu Jinsan’s abdomen.

At the same time, his body was hurled into the air, even though he’d used the Thousand Weighted Stance.

“Ugh!”

He vomited blood-tinged saliva. His eyes clearly showed disbelief.

Soon his back thudded against a tree whose leaves had already fallen.

Flump-!

“Grandpa!!”

Startled, Yu Seol rushed over and scooped her grandfather up.

He was unconscious. He must have fainted.

“W-what do I do…”

Big tears fell from her eyes like drops of chicken droppings.

She always obeyed her grandfather without question. Apparently, she hadn’t expected things to go this far.

But there was no time to cry.

Yu Seol hurriedly infused her qi into his body, using the warm, mysterious qi of the Buddha Lion Roar technique to heal his internal injuries.

“…”

As time passed, his color slowly returned.

Fortunately, his internal organs were all intact.

Although he had fainted, the effect of the Vajra Indestructible Divine Arts was undoubtedly remarkable.

Yu Seol placed his head on her lap and waited calmly.

Half an hour had passed when it happened.

“…Ggh.”

“G-grandpa! Are you okay?”

“I, I…”

He kept moving his lips as if trying to say something he wanted to do.

Yu Seol brought her ear close to his mouth.

“Yes? What is it? Hurry and tell me.”

“…Didn’t I tell you to use this much of your strength?”

Yu Jinsan looked extremely aggrieved.

He had attempted it because he calculated he could endure it to some extent.

Hadn’t he watched his granddaughter use her strength countless times? He hadn’t imagined this outcome.

“I really used only this much.”

Judging by her expression, she didn’t seem to be lying.

Then had she been holding back her strength in all the previous fights?

‘I had some suspicion, but how much strength had she been hiding…’

It was guessed she had used about eighty percent of her power against the Kunlun Emperor, but even then she apparently held back more than half.

Now one could see why the Renegade monk feared the granddaughter.

As Yu Seol had said, had he been hit a bit harder he might have died.

Just imagining it sent a chill down the spine.

“But did you have to hit Grandpa like that? You should have controlled it yourself.”

“Grandpa insisted I hit with this much of my strength…”

How could he scold a granddaughter who followed his orders to the letter?

“First, try to get me to sit up.”

“Okay. I’ll help.”

With his granddaughter’s help, Yu Jinsan sat up cross-legged. He needed to fully heal his internal injuries first.

Soon Yu Seol’s palm pressed against his back to assist his flow of qi.

The effect was astonishing; recovery was more than ten times faster than doing it alone.

‘Even if I lost consciousness, my body held on. At seven-star level… if I reached ten-star it would be incredible.’

Most martial arts increase in power by more than half with each advancement of their post-stage. And at the final ten-star stage, the power can multiply again.

It was only that his granddaughter’s fist had been harsher than expected; there was no reason to be disappointed.

When the qi work finished, Yu Seol brought the dumplings her grandfather had prepared.

“Shall I cut it in half for you?”

“No. Grandpa already ate.”

Though his stomach was empty, Yu Jinsan felt full just watching the child eat.

He didn’t want to take food from his granddaughter who’d gone ten days without eating.

“Hehe. It’s tasty.”

“Yes, yes. Eat slowly.”

“Mm!”

Yu Jinsan rested his chin and pondered for a moment.

He was thinking about teaching his granddaughter the Vajra Indestructible Divine Arts.

He asked as the child finished her dumpling.

“Seol, would you like to learn it? I’d have to get the monk’s permission, but he probably won’t refuse.”

“Vajra Indestructible?”

“Yes. If you master just this, there’ll be nothing in the world to fear.”

“No. I don’t need that.”

If one could learn this skill, martial artists would line up even offering their lives.

But she refused without a hint of hesitation. He was curious why.

“Why? If you learn this, you won’t hurt even if hit by enemies later.”

“I don’t feel pain even without using that.”

“You don’t feel pain? What is your body made of, some immortal metal?”

“Really. Grandpa, test it once.”

With a dumpling in her mouth, Yu Seol slightly pushed out her lower belly.

Her face brimmed with confidence; she clearly believed in something.

Could it be that the Buddha Lion Roar Technique’s qi protected her body?

He was curious, but how could he hit his granddaughter’s belly?

“Alright. If you say so, that’s that. Finish your dumpling and let’s descend together. Things will get busier from now on.”

Yu Seol nodded and licked her lips with a disappointed expression.

“It’s really fine though…”

An unidentifiable tension hung over the Defeating Blade Clan.

There wasn’t any particular incident.

Because prominent masters of the Evil Sect factions had begun coming and going at the Defeating Blade Clan.

Among them were the famed Swift Lightning Blade, Cheon Mu-ryong, and Anhui’s top swordsman, the Tainted Evil Mad Sword Mun Jong.

And Baek Sang, leader of the Black Cat Sect and famed as a legendary assassin.

In total, eight warriors had gathered.

They were now all gathered, heads together.

The warriors of Ho county like Ma Chun-hoe or the sect heads of Killing Blood Clan couldn’t even join this meeting.

“Really, won’t Alliance leader be able to come? Judging by the enemy’s strength, we alone won’t stand a chance.”

Evil Sect Alliance Yong Yong, famed as the Evil Faction’s top warrior, was absent, so deputy leader Maeng Jiho sat in their place.

His gaze turned to Mun Jong.

“Regrettably, she was prevented from joining due to certain matters.”

“Then how do you expect us to stop them with only us? Fist Emperor has even come. Is there anyone among us who can face him?”

“Hmm… Perhaps the sect leader should handle that one.”

The person Maeng Jiho pointed to was Baek Sang, leader of the Black Cat Sect.

He, arms folded in silence, slowly shook his head.

“I must refuse. The chance of a successful ambush against him won’t exceed thirty percent. And…”

“…?”

“The one to be wary of isn’t only the Fist Emperor. If we focus solely on him and prepare for only that, Ho County will be annihilated.”

An assassin’s intuition is known to be highly accurate. Thus his words couldn’t be ignored.

Then Maeng Jiho looked at Defeating Blade Clan’s leader Baek Gyu and asked.

“Come to think of it, didn’t the Renegade monk who was dancing alone in the yard say he’d assist the Defeating Blade Clan? He seems a bit odd, but if he was Hye Gwang’s master, he won’t be ordinary.”

“He’s not someone I can control. He might help once the attack comes, but he could turn anywhere; don’t expect too much from him.”

Everyone fell into a brief silence.

According to intelligence, the Murim Alliance’s forces gathering in Shaanxi were not ordinary.

Even with star-studded Evil Faction warriors arriving to support them, the revealed power gap was more than double.

There was no satisfactory alternative.

At that moment, the Tainted Evil Mad Sword Mun Jong broke the silence and looked at Maeng Jiho.

“Then there’s only one way.”

“Please, say it.”

“If that person joins us, we’d have a chance of victory.”

“That person? Who are you referring to?”

Mun Jong took a breath and quietly uttered a name.

“…Yin Monster.”

A relatively new figure who grew alarmingly strong and was hailed as an Evil Faction hero, an unparalleled warrior.

Her reputation overwhelmed everyone present; her presence was such that she was named among the top ten masters of the martial world.

Everyone in the hall urged Baek Gyu with hopeful looks.

“I’ve heard the Yin Yang Twin Monsters are close to the clan leader.”

“Didn’t they stay at the Defeating Blade Clan for a while? We haven’t seen them for days though.”

“Can’t we ask those people for help?”

Baek Gyu clasped his hands on the table and answered firmly.

“The Yin Yang Twin Monsters aren’t part of Evil Sects Alliance and they’ve said they don’t participate in Justice-Evil wars. They always act of their own free will and never fight when they don’t feel like it.”

He wasn’t wrong. Though the Yin Yang Twin Monsters were known to lean towards Evil Sect, they belonged to no faction. Who could intervene in whatever they chose to do?

But Baek Gyu had another reason for refusing so bluntly.

He had been pre-warned by Yu Jinsan: if the topic came up here, answer like this.

It did not mean they wouldn’t help; it was for another reason.

“I see…”

“We must somehow persuade the Yin Monster; then we have a chance.”

“But how could we…”

Sighs of frustration continued.

Everyone sank into their own thoughts, and the hall was wrapped in silence again.

Half an hour later, a sound came from outside the door.

“Clan leader, the elder has arrived!”

As if he’d been waiting, Baek Gyu smiled and looked around.

“It seems my elder brother has come to help.”

At his words, everyone couldn’t hide their joy. Only the Black Cat Sect’s leader, who had met him before, remained silent.

“Yang, Yang Monster?”

“Then Yin Monster must have come too!”

“Finally we can meet that person in the flesh.”

A moment later the door opened and Yu Jinsan entered with his hands clasped behind his back.

He was a small child as rumors described, but no one belittled him based on appearance.

And when a slightly larger child appeared behind the Yang counterpart, everyone rose from their seats.

“Most of you I meet for the first time. Yang Monster will greet you first.”

“I’m Yin Monster.”

When the Yin Yang Twin Monsters bowed first, everyone rushed to introduce themselves.

The reason Yu Jinsan had made them wait and arrived late was to seize the initiative for the operation about to begin.

“Please, sit here.”

Yu Jinsan perched on the chair Baek Gyu pulled out. Behind him, Yu Seol stood like a bodyguard, gripping a spear.

Normally he would have entered alone, but today the situation was different.

Those present were exceptional warriors. To avoid being intimidated among the Evil Sect titans, he had to position his granddaughter behind him.

Indeed, it felt reassuring as if a celestial deity stood at his back.

There was plenty of force in his voice.

“How far did you discuss?”

From behind her grandfather, Yu Seol narrowed her eyes and scanned each person.

Those who met Yin Monster’s abyssal gaze felt their hearts drop.

An intimidation that even skilled warriors shrank from. Before him, everyone had to be humble.

Unlike the Justice faction that prioritized distribution, in the Heterodox where the strong rule, strength itself determined rank.

“I’ll explain.”

Amid the silence, Baek Gyu summarized the current situation.

There was no need to hear it in detail; Yu Jinsan already knew.

“So you intend to wait until the Justice bastards launch their attack. Am I right?”

“That’s correct. We’ll set up camp at Ho County’s entrance and face them there, just like before.”

The Evil Sect extermination operation once led by the Murim Alliance had a similar situation at Ho County back then.

Although they repelled it, weren’t countless casualties incurred?

Moreover, the situation was more serious now than then.

Back then the Justice faction had relied on sheer numbers; now they’d gathered only their finest elite masters.

“But if a battle erupts here, many innocent sect members will die. The children will be in danger too.”

Cheon Mu-ryong, the Swift Lightning Blade, who had been watching quietly, spoke up for the first time.

“We’ve thought about it too, but for now this seems the best approach.”

“The best… Where did you say they’re gathering?”

“All the ones we tracked disappeared on Yun Mountain. If that’s the place, they’re probably gathering at Geumyang Temple.”

“Hm. That’s not far from here. But why are you, busy people, insisting on waiting for an ambush? Why not just strike first and sweep them away?”