Let’s See What You’ve Got (1)

Yu Jinsan’s face was full of composure.

Because he’d already claimed victory three times, and hadn’t even shown half his skill.

Sitting in the stands with his granddaughter, he had his arms folded.

“Indeed, the famed Yang family spear is as expected. That bracket will surely see that boy win.”

Clad in neat light-blue light armor and handsome to boot, the one Yu Jinsan pointed out carried everyone’s expectations.

He toyed with his opponent in the ring with relaxed movements.

His ornate spear technique looked like a bee drifting through flowers, but when he struck it was sharp and fierce, like driving a venomous stinger home.

“Huh? The Yang family? They’re your enemy, grandpa.”

Yu Jinsan sighed. He hadn’t expected his granddaughter to dredge up that painful past.

They’d left him with unpleasant memories, but they were hardly mortal enemies.

“Yes. Long ago, I was soundly beaten here by that boy’s father.”

How could he ever forget that day?

The day he’d entered the World’s Greatest Spear Tournament with high hopes, only to be humiliated from the first match—those painful memories.

The bitter tears he shed then, the lingering humiliation, they still felt vivid.

“That man is hiding his strength too. Can you beat him?”

“Trust your grandpa. Today is different from that day. Back then we hadn’t rediscovered our family’s secret spear art.”

“Slaying Wind Spear.”

“Yes. Soon the world’s greatest spear art will be decided between our family’s Slaying Wind Spear and the Yangs’ Pear Blossom Spear.”

“The world’s best spear art? Neither of those.”

Slaying Wind Spear was the pride of the Yu family.

How dare an upstart belittle a spear art that had carried a family for centuries.

Yu Jinsan inwardly prepared to scold and asked,

“Then what is it?”

Suddenly his granddaughter’s shoulders tensed.

She even lifted her chin, brimming with pride.

“Invincible Seol’s Spear Technique!”

“Ugh.”

Yu Jinsan couldn’t help but let out a half laugh.

He couldn’t argue—he’d already experienced its power firsthand.

At that moment, the warrior from the Yang family won another match.

At the same time, his granddaughter’s index finger wriggled and pointed somewhere.

“Mister Dong-gu is coming out!”

Dong-gu entered the arena, looking at them with an embarrassed smile.

Yu Jinsan clicked his tongue at Dong-gu’s awkward wave.

“Tsk. I told him to fight as if he meant to kill this time…”

The first rule of combat is to overwhelm the opponent with presence, but that foolish face no longer looked easy pickings.

Yu Jinsan’s worry was far from small.

Because this opponent was not to be taken lightly.

A Blue Dragon troops member disguised as Participant No. 36 stepped in, smiling to himself.

The referee’s announcements continued.

“Oh no~ Oh no~”

Yu Seol buried her forehead against her grandfather’s shoulder.

This was not the kind of opponent you could coach against.

The outcome was essentially decided from the start; it was only a matter of how long he could hold out.

How painful it must be to watch knowing that.

“It’s okay, child. He needs to fail a few times to grow; it’ll do him good.”

“Mm……”

Dong-gu, facing his opponent, took his stance.

Tension like they’d never seen on his face filled him.

“Dong-gu, you’re truly maddening. I told you not to be afraid so many times.”

This was an opponent he had almost no chance of beating even at full strength. Crushed by momentum, the result was obvious.

After a moment, the bell announcing the start rang through the arena.

Ziiing-!!

The attack pattern of No. 36 observed so far was always the same.

He always crushed his opponent mercilessly at the opening.

And this time was no different.

If you know when the opponent will strike, defense is easier. Dong-gu followed Yu Jinsan’s advice and bet everything on the first exchange.

There was only one chance.

Dong-gu charged straight at the oncoming direction.

He dropped his upper body sharply to avoid the spear that came like a ray of light.

He planned to deflect the attack and counter with a lethal strike.

The tip of the wooden spear skimmed just an inch above Dong-gu’s face.

All that remained was the counterattack.

As he spun to strike the spear’s shaft, it happened.

In that instant, Dong-gu saw his opponent’s expression.

He was smiling, crazily so.

Dong-gu’s pupils dilated—his opponent’s form had disappeared before his eyes.

Positional Shift, a high-level relocation technique that shifts one’s position in an instant. Using it during an attack is a move even Yu Jinsan would find hard to imitate.

Before he knew it, No. 36 was striking Dong-gu’s back from the side.

It was a brutal blow so strong the spear shaft seemed about to snap.

Skrak-!!!

“Krak!!”

Having taken the blow, Dong-gu crumpled pitifully to the ground.

The pain felt like his spine had been shattered, but there was no time to moan.

He quickly flipped over and thrust the spear shaft upright horizontally.

As if waiting, No. 36 drove his wooden spear down hard onto Dong-gu’s shaft.

Kwang-!!

The attack did not end with a single strike.

His strikes continued relentlessly, like chopping logs.

Kwang-! Kwang-!!

Dong-gu couldn’t regain his senses under the repeated shocks to his arms.

In that moment he saw the face of the man attacking him.

He was still smiling, as if this moment amused him.

“Ugh. Heh heh.”

After a moment his attack halted.

To be precise, he’d withdrawn the spear fully to prepare a decisive strike.

Whirrr-!

No. 36 spun the spear and set it vertically to drive it down.

“…Guh.”

Dong-gu clutched his abdomen as if his breath had been knocked out.

A master of a different level.

It was a helplessness he’d never known before.

Where could greater despair be?

The opponent seemed like an immense wall.

“Hey, snap out of it. You still have one strike left, right?”

He still held the wooden spear but had no strength left to swing it.

Dong-gu’s gaze shifted to the stands.

Yu Jinsan frantically waved his hands up and down—a signal to surrender quickly. Beside him, Yu Seol clenched her fists and trembled.

There was no need to endure any more humiliation.

Dong-gu barely managed to move his stubborn lips.

“…S-”

It was then that Dong-gu heard a low whisper from his opponent.

“You’re not really going to surrender now, are you?”

As if refusing to allow it, No. 36 pulled on the spear.

Despite the pain, Dong-gu raised the shaft with all his remaining strength.

It felt as if his arms would be torn from their sockets.

He couldn’t project his internal qi through the shaft, and the difference in internal qi infused in the spear was unstoppable.

Then No. 36 began to drag their crossed spear shafts upward.

Rrrr-!

At this rate his fingers and jaw would be taken off in one go.

Dong-gu let go with his right hand and twisted his torso as hard as he could.

By a hair’s breadth the spear tip grazed Dong-gu’s face.

But it seemed not to be perfect.

Tudududuk-!

The sound of beads scattering across the floor.

His jade-bead bracelet around his wrist had snapped.

The composed look in Dong-gu’s eyes noticeably wavered.

He reached desperately, as if he couldn’t bear to lose even a single bead.

“My… my friendship bracelet…”

Everyone has at least one prized possession.

To Dong-gu, that jade bracelet was his most precious treasure—he wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Just as he grabbed a few beads,

No. 36’s swung wooden spear struck him squarely in the face.

Crack-!!!

The blow was so strong the wooden spear snapped.

Blood poured incessantly from Dong-gu’s nose.

He seemed to have lost consciousness; his whole body was motionless.

The only commendable thing was that he hadn’t let go of the beads in his hand.

Then the referee’s shout announced the match’s end.

“And the winner is Participant No. 36!”

He curled his lips higher as if satisfied with the result.

And just another breath later.

The smiling face of No. 36 suddenly stiffened.

He took a few hurried steps back.

At that moment a small figure shot into the spot where he’d been like a lightning bolt.

It was a girl with long hair flowing down to her waist.

Yu Seol, who had rushed into the arena, knelt and checked on Dong-gu.

Then a frightened whisper came from behind.

“Um… Yin Monster?”

The Blue Dragon troops member disguised as No. 36 flinched and stepped back.

He’d met the gaze of Yin Monster, burning with fury.

Those eyes glared at him as if to kill; the pressure from that stare felt suffocating.

“…Prepare yourself.”

“Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Leaving those ominous words, Yu Seol grabbed Dong-gu with both hands and lifted him up in a flash.

Then she surged through the air, flying off somewhere.

The audience widened their eyes in shock at her astonishing lightness skill.

“W-what is that?”

“W-what am I even seeing right now?”

“Is that a person or a ghost?”

How many in the murim world can freely run through the air like that?

Only a tiny number of martial artists who recognized Yin Monster’s identity had frozen expressions.

With today’s matches over, four winners were decided from each bracket.

The semifinals and finals would continue the next day.

The Yeonhwa Inn in a nearby village.

It was a lodging provided by the organizers for participants and their parties to rest—a large three-story inn that felt very cozy.

Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter sat in front of a wooden bed in the spacious room.

Their expressions were somewhat grave—Dong-gu lay before them with bandages wrapped around his face and torso.

“Don’t worry on my account, elder.”

“Aren’t you angry? You got beaten like that and still you smile here?”

Even half-dead, his smirking face looked all the more pitiable.

Yu Seol said nothing.

She only huffed as if she couldn’t let it go.

“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you, elder.”

“Why would you be?”

“You could face him in tomorrow’s final. Have you thought about how you’ll fight?”

“Why plan? He likely ran. He got marked by our Seol, after all.”

Yu Seol’s small, cherry-red lips moved for the first time.

“No. He’s still here.”

A look of puzzlement crossed Yu Jinsan’s face—his expectation had been wrong.

‘Did he decide he’d die to Yin Monster as long as he could take me down himself in the tournament?’

It wasn’t strange—they were trained to throw away their lives for the mission.

After collecting his thoughts, he casually asked his granddaughter,

“His movements weren’t ordinary… How strong do you think he is?”

“Very. He’s hiding his true strength. Grandpa will get thrashed like Dong-gu tomorrow.”

“Huh, this guy?”

Yu Seol clamped her mouth shut as if she’d said enough.

Yu Jinsan, about to snap back, finally shook his head.

At that, a sulky Yu Seol was comforted by Dong-gu.

“I’m fine. See? My limbs move. A night’s rest and I’ll be better by tomorrow.”

“Still, I can’t forgive them. Our friendship bracelet flew off.”

“I’ll buy you another bracelet tomorrow. I’m rich, you know.”

Yu Seol folded her arms and said no more—she seemed to be thinking her own thoughts.

Leaving his granddaughter aside, Yu Jinsan continued chatting with Dong-gu.

From matters of the murim world to everyday talk.

Yu Seol stared out the window from the corner of the room, quietly rolling her eyes as if searching for someone.

As dusk fell and Dong-gu dozed off,

Yu Seol suddenly sprang up and began walking toward the door.

“Child, where are you going?”

“I’ll be right back. I just want to get some fresh air…”

“Alright, that’ll cheer you up. But it’s late—don’t go far and come straight back.”