A Pleasant Day (1)

Yu Jinsan used the Great Body-Shift technique to take his left position.

This mystical method, which moves the body as the mind wills, was extremely handy in combat.

‘Right! This is it!’

The situation was certainly different from a moment ago.

Gaps that hadn’t been visible before in the opponent began to show bit by bit.

At that moment, his granddaughter’s voice came to his ear again.

• Pursuing Soul Flash!

The Yu family Wind Slaying Spear’s fourth technique, Pursuing Soul Flash. It was a move that chased and stabbed the opponent as fast as lightning.

Yu Jinsan’s body reacted and moved reflexively.

The spear tip, moving like a snake, doggedly hunted the Thirty Six’s openings.

The decisive strike was, regrettably, blocked.

But it wasn’t without gain.

The opponent’s stance staggered. It was because he defended from an unstable position.

• Pierce in!

A tiny thing giving advice to an adult.

It was absurd, but it wasn’t the time to argue, he couldn’t miss this chance.

Yu Jinsan leapt briefly and flew toward the opponent’s chest while spinning.

Flying Advance Killing Force. It was the fiercest charging technique among the Yu Family Wind Slaying Spear’s moves.

Again his attack was stopped by the opponent’s spear shaft, but it didn’t matter.

His aim was to keep destabilizing him and create an opening.

Yu Jinsan continued circling left and unleashed a flurry of strikes.

Bang-! Bang-! Kwaang-!!!

The wooden spears were clashing, and the roaring sound resembled thunder. It was because both spear shafts were saturated with heavy qi.

As the exchanges continued, the Thirty Six’s posture gradually broke down — his left foot, which should have held his center, was broken after all.

As he staggered as if about to fall, one corner of Yu Jinsan’s mouth lifted.

‘Got you, you bastard!’

Fierce Dragon Ascends to Heaven. Among the Wind-Slaying Spear’s techniques, it was the most powerful savage strike.

The spear tip drew a circle and took the shape of a fierce dragon.

The assault that seemed to bite at the opponent’s head showed no mercy.

Although he did not emit overt strong qi, his Ten-Star cultivation power was fully contained within the wooden spear itself.

Yu Jinsan smiled inwardly in triumph. That was, until he saw the opponent’s face.

Even in a crisis, he had that unpleasant smirk.

Some part of him felt uneasy, but what could be done.

Yu Jinsan shoved the spear tip in with all his strength.

The opponent, with no time to execute a proper technique, only brought his spear shaft to meet it.

Kwachik-!!

It was the sound of the wooden spear gripped by the Thirty Six splintering.

With both arms flung back, his chest was exposed. He’d even lost the broken spear.

Now only the finishing move remained.

But he couldn’t begin the next action. It was because of his granddaughter’s urgent transmitted voice.

• Evade!!

Evade out of nowhere? He couldn’t understand why, but Yu Seol wouldn’t spout nonsense when it came to battle.

Yu Jinsan deployed the Great Body Shift technique without time to fully grasp the situation.

And in an instant he saw something: thin strands of light spewing from the opponent’s left sleeve like a spider’s web.

A veteran of the martial world, he could easily guess what it was.

‘Tian silkworm thread?’

Heavenly Silkworm Thread. Silkworm silk taken from a spiritual creature; once entangled, there’s no way out.

A dozen or so threads tried to wrap around his body and spear, but he dodged them by a hair’s breadth.

If he’d been bound, imagining what would have happened was horrifying.

But the danger didn’t end there.

A dagger appeared from the Thirty Six’s right sleeve.

As soon as he gripped the dagger, a chilling sword qi surged up.

Some sharp-eyed martial folk in the stands cried out in alarm.

“Wh-what!?”

“Sword—enhanced sword!?”

“What on earth is happening?”

Whether the crowd was surprised or not, he had no mind to care about their reactions.

Blocking the enhanced sword with the Vajra Indestructible Divine technique was out of the question.

Yu Jinsan, whose courage chilled, drew out spear qi. It was weak compared to the sword qi clinging to the Thirty Six’s dagger, but there was no other way to confront it.

Emitting qi from a weapon was forbidden in the duel, but now it was meaningless; from the moment the opponent drew Heavenly Silkworm Threads and the dagger, his uncontested victory had ended.

From now on it wasn’t a duel but a life-or-death fight.

‘I wasn’t going to use it unless necessary.’

Though the situation was dire, he still had a trump left.

Originally, any warrior has at least one plausible final technique.

It’s like a lifeline, so it must be hidden and saved until the end.

But now there was no choice.

The first technique of the Invincible Seol’s Spear Technique: Seol Seol Beatdown.

It was the moment the strongest spear art, created by his granddaughter, revealed itself to the world for the first time.

The instant the opponent rushed, Yu Jinsan’s feet moved brilliantly and created clones.

Several clones circled him like a gale carrying a whirlwind.

Ssssssh-!

The revealed Blue Dragon troop’s member scoffed as if it were laughable.

His movement lowering his stance and pulling his dagger looked ominous.

He seemed intent on parrying the attack and ending it in one strike.

He likely didn’t want to prolong it in case Yin Monster might storm the arena.

It was while he waited for Yu Jinsan’s attack.

For a moment the Blue Dragon member doubted his eyes.

Because eight wooden spears were simultaneously surging in from all directions — and they were infused with qi.

Normally such multi-attacks mix real moves and feints.

But the flow of qi he felt told him there were no feints.

‘Impossible. Are all of them real strikes?’

It was an absurdly brutal technique.

There was nowhere to evade to, but the Blue Dragon member wasn’t going to take it meekly.

Clenching his teeth, he crazily unleashed qi in all directions.

Supreme warrior’s lightning-fast movements were truly beyond reproach.

Kwaang-! Kwakwaang-!!

The qi clinging to the dagger extinguished the approaching spear tips one by one before they arrived.

But perhaps due to his injured left foot? He wasn’t perfect, and his expression was very dark.

In the blink of an eye, two beams flashed.

Puk-! Pook-!!

He tried to block every assault coming from all directions, but in the end he missed two.

The dagger he held clattered and fell — he’d been pierced through the right shoulder.

And blood continuously gushed from his left abdomen.

It was astonishing he could still stand on both legs in that condition.

“Now do you understand? The terror of this old man.”

His bloodshot eyes glared at Yu Jinsan, who grinned smugly.

The gap between Supreme realm and the Peak Super warrior realm was like heaven and earth. Under normal circumstances they couldn’t be equals.

Having been beaten so bafflingly, he couldn’t help feeling resentful and wronged.

“…Damn it. If not for the injury from Yin Monster.”

A red flush rose on Yu Jinsan’s face. He was extremely excited by the current situation.

He merely didn’t show it. He wanted to shout for joy.

His face mocking his opponent was full of a smile.

“I knew you’d make excuses. You were the one who crawled out personally despite having a chance to flee.”

The Blue Dragon member gave up as if he no longer wanted to speak with Yu Jinsan.

“Kill me.”

His face went pale; he looked like he could barely stand.

Now all that was needed was to thrust him through.

“Alright. I was just about to do exactly that.”

The spear tip thrust like a spear jabbed into his lower abdomen.

Squeeech-!

“Guhk! You, you bastard…”

Clutching his abdomen, the Blue Dragon member’s lips trembled with rage.

Because Yu Jinsan, whom he expected would kill him, had only destroyed his dantian and withdrawn.

He had already retreated and was nodding to the judges, as if his duty were done.

The stunned referee came to his senses and shouted to the officials.

“Quickly, seize and bind him!”

There was no real need to bind him. With his dantian destroyed, he was no longer a dangerous person.

Rather, they needed to worry he might die from his wounds.

He was carried out on a stretcher by waiting officials. After emergency treatment he’d be interrogated in the brain prison.

The audience remained wrapped in silence.

Perhaps shocked by the recent events; everyone seemed to be collecting their thoughts.

Then, somewhere in the stands a little girl’s loud shout burst out.

“My grandpa’s awesome!!”

Her voice was clear and pure like rolling jade beads — one didn’t need to look to know who it belonged to.

His granddaughter Yu Seol was bouncing on her shoulders alongside Dong-gu.

And that was the beginning.

As if on cue, countless spectators shouted in unison.

“Hahaha! That’s so cool!”

“This was truly the best tournament!!”

A faint proud smile lingered on Yu Jinsan’s face as he glanced across the stands.

The honorable award ceremony had finally ended.

Since it wasn’t a grand tournament hosted by the imperial house or the Murim Alliance, the rewards weren’t large.

Just a reasonably serviceable famed spear and a small amount of prize money.

But to Yu Jinsan it held more value than anything.

He had finally achieved one of the things he wanted to do before he died.

He felt as if he could fly.

“Dong-gu, you did well too. If there’s something you’ve always wanted to eat, order as much as you like.”

They were at an inn in a nearby village.

The table was already piled high with expensive dishes.

Yu Jinsan had even ordered dragon-phoenix soup, something he had rarely tasted.

Dong-gu’s face, hidden under bandages, was very bright.

“By the way, where did Seol go? Leaving all this delicious food.”

“Still as oblivious as ever. She probably went to buy a friendship bracelet for you.”

Who knew his granddaughter better than Yu Jinsan? Judging by the fact she took a hefty allowance, it was certain.

Moved, Dong-gu smiled contentedly.

Scratching his head, he looked embarrassed.

“Anyway, congratulations, elder.”

“Congrats? Nonsense. The old man barged into the kids’ play and stole the prize, what a fuss.”

“Nonsense. What does age have to do with a spear contest? If anything, it’s more impressive.”

Yu Jinsan handed him the spear he had leaned against the table.

“Here, take this.”

“Why are you giving that to me? It’s the reward you earned through hardship, sir.”

“I already have something better. It’s too big for my hands anyway.”

“No, I can’t accept this.”

Yu Jinsan sighed at Dong-gu’s lack of tact.

“Go home and show it to your father lying in bed. A little lie that his proud son won the contest won’t hurt once.”

“…What?”

Yu Jinsan smiled reassuringly and nodded.

Though his smile looked like a child’s, it carried an unapproachable depth of experience.

“What is filial piety but a small thing? He won’t live long; give him at least one more good memory to take with him.”

Dong family head Dong Un-geol was also a seasoned figure in the martial world.

He certainly wouldn’t be unable to tell if the spear was genuine.

He would surely be very happy to hear his son had won the spear contest.

“…Elder.”

Dong-gu couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.

Wiping his tears with his sleeve, he looked somehow pitiable.

Yu Jinsan stood and patted his shoulder.

“Why’s a grown lad crying? Stop before Seol comes back.”

But it was already too late for that.

Because Yu Seol was dashing back through the inn’s entrance.

“Grandpa, I met that auntie!”

“Auntie?”

How could the little thing know who she was talking about? Especially in Henan.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t guess who it might be.