The Feeling Of Ascension. (2)

He boldly provoked his granddaughter, but that momentum did not last long.

The moment Yu Seol used both hands, his defense was breached.

Immediately, a palm sank into his exposed chest.

It was the Push-Off Technique, among the Yu-family Heaven-and-Earth Palm.

Yu Jinsan staggered back as if about to fall.

But there was no time to be dazed, his granddaughter was charging at him right in front of him.

At this rate, he’d be beaten indiscriminately.

Yu Jinsan frantically thrust out his left hand. At that moment, a black current gushed from his fingertips like smoke and began to envelop Yu Seol.

‘…Huh!?’

Even as he launched the attack, Yu Jinsan was surprised at himself.

Because this was not the force he had intended.

He worried that the unexpected variable might hurt his granddaughter, but it was an unfounded fear.

In an instant he witnessed a golden radiance exploding before his eyes.

Swoosh-!!!

A dazzling cluster of light pierced the black current and revealed itself. It then transformed into Yu Seol with her fist clenched.

‘Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique?’

It was a peerless martial art used only against formidable foes.

She would even use this against him, it was the first time such a thing had happened.

With his stance broken, Yu Jinsan covered his face and braced his abdomen.

But the expected impact never came.

Before he knew it, his granddaughter’s fist was touching his lower abdomen.

Yet it was odd that she hadn’t struck hard, only a light touch.

“Why did you stop?”

Yu Seol first dispelled the golden radiance that had enveloped her entire body.

Then she asked with a worried look in her eyes.

“Grandpa, are you okay? Your eyes got strange again.”

“They turned black again?”

He hadn’t felt anything wrong. It was utterly incomprehensible.

He hurriedly moved the prayer beads he had put into his right hand back to his left.

His granddaughter leaned in and began inspecting him from different angles.

“Hmm. It’s getting better again.”

“Good, that’s better. How was Grandpa’s martial art?”

He asked with hidden expectation, but her answer was not what he had expected.

“Something feels off.”

“What do you mean? You were singing that you wanted to spar.”

Yu Seol raised one hand to show him.

It was the right hand that had clashed primarily with his left.

Amazingly, the palm was stained black.

“Look at this. It stings.”

If his granddaughter said it stung, it wasn’t ordinary. In all the years of raising her since infancy, this was the first time.

Startled, Yu Jinsan hastily examined his palm closely.

Luckily, the blackened areas were gradually evaporating into smoke and disappearing.

Could it be that the Demon Divine technique he had unleashed carried some poison?

He couldn’t tell what it was, but it seemed his deep internal qi was repelling it.

“I’m sorry, child. I won’t use this martial art on you anymore.”

Yu Jinsan’s eyes reddened before he realized it, the thought that he might have endangered his granddaughter had nearly occurred.

“It’s okay. It was still fun.”

“No. Come with me for a moment.”

Yu Jinsan took his granddaughter to the kitchen.

He fetched water and began to wash her hands clean.

“Huh? Why are you washing my hands? Is this really my grandpa?”

Yu Seol looked puzzled with wide eyes, though her grandfather sometimes washed her hair, he’d never washed her hands before.

“Then has Grandpa been possessed? Just stay still for a moment.”

She was the strongest child in the world in many ways, but first and foremost she was his only blood.

Having washed her hands, Yu Jinsan gently smoothed his granddaughter’s hair.

Yu Seol smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’m not in pain anymore.”

Judging by her expression, it certainly seemed so.

Only then did a look of relief appear on Yu Jinsan’s face.

“Alright, alright. From next time, let’s spar with spears.”

“Spear practice? Will you do it with me now?”

They had only just finished bare-handed sparring, and now she wanted spear practice immediately.

It was called sparring, but it mostly involved enduring and then being unilaterally struck. It helped skill-wise, but it drained one’s stamina.

Besides, he couldn’t concentrate right now.

“We should rest today, it’s better to do it tomorrow.”

Yu Jinsan brushed himself off and stood up, ready to escape before being detained.

Yu Seol trotted after him, seeking a definite answer.

“Tomorrow? Really?”

“Yes. When have I ever lied?”

Perhaps it was from the overly strenuous sparring, he felt oddly drained.

Today, his shoulders seemed especially slumped.

Yu Seol gazed softly at her grandfather’s back, then disappeared somewhere.

Soon after, Yu Jinsan came outside and perched on a pavilion.

He was beset by worries.

He had been pleased to obtain that strange power, but wondered whether he should continue refining it.

‘Truly, it’s an evil martial art.’

Its uncontrollable force and cruelty, this couldn’t be simply overlooked.

If his opponent hadn’t been the granddaughter who had reached the Profound Realm, he would surely have died.

The temptation of power was hard to resist, but he felt he must keep his distance.

‘Moreover, it would be all too easy to be mistaken for practicing demonic arts.’

Demonic arts are taboo in the murim world.

If rumors spread that he had mastered demonic arts, he would be branded an outlaw in the Central Plains.

Even now, Justice faction warriors called him a demon head, but becoming an official enemy of the martial world was another matter.

He sighed involuntarily.

He had finally thought himself strong enough to hold his own against his granddaughter, at least somewhat.

It felt as if his hope had vanished.

After careful thought, there was only one alternative.

‘Supreme realm.’

Supreme realm: the exalted level that serves as the dividing line for absolute masters.

He had already reached a near-ultimate level, so it wasn’t an entirely distant path.

One step.

Just one more step forward and he could reach that threshold.

But it was as if a sandbag weighing tens of thousands of don had been tied to his ankle, he couldn’t move forward.

He was blocked by an unseen wall.

‘If I could just reach the Supreme realm, I could learn the Muscle Changing Technique.’

It was what Renegade monk Jeong Hye had told him directly: if he qualified to learn, she was willing to teach it.

The Muscle Changing Technique left by Bodhidharma was regarded as Shaolin Temple’s supreme secret art.

If things went according to plan, he would surpass the threshold of the Supreme realm and reach even higher levels.

‘I should meet that monk sometime soon.’

He was completely unpredictable and could go anywhere in his behavior.

Thus he needed to meet him again and firmly persuade him, the monk might change his mind or pretend not to know.

But the biggest problem was how to reach the Supreme realm.

If he didn’t ascend to the ranks of absolute masters, everything would be in vain.

He was lost in frustrated thought for a moment.

“Grandpa, are you tired these days? Shall I give you a massage?”

His granddaughter had quietly come up behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

How did she know his worries and appear like a ghost? In any case, he had no reason to refuse.

“Yes. A well-raised granddaughter is worth ten children.”

Yu Seol’s touch was like a miraculous elixir.

It wasn’t just simple muscle kneading.

Warm innate qi transmitted from her fingertips was cleansing his meridians.

It was a technique impossible to dream of unless one was at the Profound Realm.

“Why the sudden change? If you want something, tell me.”

“I don’t want anything.”

“I’ll definitely do the spear sparring tomorrow, so don’t worry.”

“No. If you’re tired, we can do it another time.”

Yu Jinsan tilted his head. Why was she suddenly like this?

She was even willing to postpone the sparring she loved.

It was a reaction unlike his usual granddaughter.

“Do you have some worries troubling you? Tell Grandpa quickly.”

“It’s nothing. But Grandpa?”

“Yes. Tell me.”

Yu Seol hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a subdued voice.

“Strangely, my shoulders feel narrower today.”

She was at an age for considerable growth. Yet instead of widening, her shoulders looked narrower, impossible.

Could it be that he looked pitiful to her?

He let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.

“Well then, our Seol is lucky, broader shoulders and stronger than Grandpa.”

“No. Grandpa should get stronger quickly too.”

“It’s not easy. I want to reach the Supreme realm, but I’m blocked by a wall and can’t progress.”

As she massaged his shoulders, Yu Seol whispered in a small voice.

“Then shall I help you?”

The Supreme realm could only be reached through enlightenment.

By his understanding, it wasn’t something one could achieve with someone else’s help.

Perhaps someone like his granddaughter, born with the saint-like sense body attuned to celestial perceptions, might manage.

For an ordinary person like him, the chance of reaching it in a lifetime was slim even with endless effort.

“How would you help with that?”

“Hmm. I think I know why you aren’t progressing.”

A glimmer of hope appeared on Yu Jinsan’s face.

Before being his granddaughter, she was a peerless master vying for supremacy in the martial world.

She could offer anything that might help.

“Tell me quickly. What is it?”

“Grandpa, you’re narrow-minded.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? You say I’m narrow-minded?”

At that moment, his granddaughter’s arm suddenly appeared over his shoulder.

Yu Seol formed her hand into a circle in front of him, creating an air bubble with her palm.

“You’re trapped only inside this. Step outside it and look at the universe, then you’ll see what you couldn’t before.”

It was completely incomprehensible.

He tilted his head for a moment, then clapped his hands with an ‘aha.’

Suddenly he remembered meeting the previous era’s top martial warrior, the Sword Empress.

She had said something to him back then.

‘Didn’t she say that to advance to a higher realm, I must break out of the framework I made?’

Astonishingly, it matched what his granddaughter had just told him.

Something seemed to surface but his thoughts were muddled.

“So how do I see the universe?”

Yu Seol pondered briefly, then answered softly.

“Then close your eyes. I’ll let you feel it for a moment.”

There seemed to be a method of some kind.

Even if it didn’t bring enlightenment, anything could help.

Any small clue would be welcome.

“Alright.”

So far, nothing special had happened.

The moment he closed his eyes, his granddaughter’s massage continued.

“Okay. Now stay still.”

Yu Jinsan felt a small jolt in his shoulders and waist.

He toppled over from his seated position.

His granddaughter had grabbed him and laid him down.

Thud-!

At that moment, Yu Seol hopped onto his back like a squirrel.

The reason was not hard to guess.

From neck to waist and along his back, he felt his body’s qi and blood lift as if being buoyed upward.

It was not a mere full-body massage.

“Ugh!”

A sound of relief escaped him at the inexplicable refreshment.

“How is it?”

“It feels as if my soul is rising to the heavens.”

The invigorating feeling to his bones seemed to wash away all fatigue.

Precisely, it felt as though his entire body was gently melting away.

“Then I’ll begin now.”

“W-What?”