I’ll Help, Hyung. (3)

Yu Jinsan, after many twists and turns, was able to persuade Jeong Hye.

Having received the hand seals of the Muscle Changing Technique, he moved to the uninhabited back mountain of the Defeating Blade Clan to test whether there were any problems before returning home.

If there were any problems, he would have to go back and ask again.

Who could have known that this would become the source of trouble?

What began as a practice attempt turned into something he could not stop.

If he tried to stop, his qi and blood twisted as if he’d fall into demonic possession; he was unable to move.

‘This is bad. I left without cooking any food at home.’

He worried terribly about his granddaughter being alone without anything to eat at home.

But Yu Jinsan realized his own situation and sighed inwardly.

His own problems were pressing, who was he to worry about anyone? This was not the time to fret over a granddaughter who could survive anywhere.

It was the second day of him sitting cross-legged and continuing his qigong practice.

‘Could it be that that monk tricked me?’

That would explain things if Jeong Hye had taught him the Muscle Changing Technique’s seals wrong.

But judging by her character, she wouldn’t have gone that far.

Then there was only one possibility to infer.

‘Otherwise, there must be a problem with the inner method.’

Internal Cultivation refers to the training method for building internal qi.

Every martial art has inner methods that fit well with it.

Since his internal qi wasn’t built with shaolin’s internal cultivation, side effects were to be expected.

He had thought Yu family cultivation method, with its solid foundation, would be problem-free.

‘Then there’s only one way.’

He had no choice but to suppress the boiling qi with the Muscle Changing Technique’s qi.

It was a peerless martial art that could stabilize qi and blood, and counteract impure energies.

To do that, he had to continue training to raise his attainment in the Muscle Changing Technique.

Woooooong-!

A faint golden radiance emitted around him as he sat cross-legged.

That sight was similar in nature to the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique that Yu Seol had mastered.

But it was similar and yet distinctly different.

According to the hand seals, the Muscle Changing Technique borrows power by embodying the Buddha within one’s body.

But the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique is a higher-level art where one becomes the Buddha itself.

‘I don’t know how long it will take, but I must hurry.’

Yu Jinsan’s heart grew anxious thinking of his granddaughter waiting alone at home.

There was only one way to resolve the current situation.

Yu Jinsan concentrated all his mind solely on training the Muscle Changing Technique.

He entered a state of self-forgetting, concentrating to the point of losing awareness of his own existence.

How much time had passed?

Only after the sun and moon had changed several times did a change occur.

The golden energy that had wrapped around him evaporated as if being absorbed into his body.

When Yu Jinsan slowly opened his eyes, a clear vitality shone in his gaze like a pristine lake.

It was a sigh mixed with joy and relief.

At last, he could handle the Muscle Changing Technique.

Even though his attainment wasn’t high, he felt as if he’d gained boundless potential.

It truly exceeded expectations, indeed, it could be called the greatest martial study left by the Dharma Master of Shaolin.

His gaze slowly moved to the prayer beads on his left wrist.

‘If it’s the Muscle Changing Technique, might it be able to control the thing sealed on this left hand?’

To suppress the demon’s qi with the Buddha’s aura.

It made perfect sense.

It was worth trying, but for now it seemed too risky.

‘It would be better to try after my cultivation level rises. First, I should return home.’

His granddaughter would be worried about him.

Yu Jinsan pushed off the ground and began to stride through the air.

As he sped through the sky, he stepped on tree crowns one by one and continued onward.

He couldn’t contain his light movements and overflowing strength.

Compared to when he had been at his peak, he felt several times stronger.

‘Child, wait. Grandpa is coming soon.’

When he arrived home, Yu Jinsan tilted his head in puzzlement.

‘Where on earth did she go? She wouldn’t have run away.’

There was no sign of Yu Seol anywhere.

She wasn’t the type to leave for a long time without saying anything.

Surely she would have left some trace somewhere.

As he searched the house, he found something on the porch.

“What are these bundles?”

Some contained alcohol or snacks, and there were even luxury items.

Where did all this come from? She couldn’t have bought them herself.

It seemed someone had visited the house.

Then Yu Jinsan discovered a neatly folded piece of paper under the bundles.

When he unfolded it, a familiar handwriting appeared.

It was a handwritten note left by his granddaughter.

The content was only one line.

[Grandpa, I’m going out for a bit. Don’t worry, eat this.]

Where could she possibly have gone?

It was utterly incomprehensible.

Yu Jinsan sank down and looked through the leftover food.

Most were long-lasting items, but there were some perishable things.

Judging by freshness, a considerable amount of time had clearly passed.

“Sigh. It’s my fault for leaving. Just come back safely.”

He didn’t blame his granddaughter; if he had returned on time, this wouldn’t have happened.

He believed she would return before long, wherever she’d gone.

Yu Jinsan absentmindedly picked up a piece of jerky and chewed it.

After days of hunger, he couldn’t help but be hungry.

While he was spacing out like that for a moment.

He rose, dusting himself off, with a puzzled expression.

He had sensed someone approaching this place.

In the past, it would have been too far for him to notice.

A moment later, a sound came from the entrance of the manor.

“Elder, are you there!? Seol!”

Receiving no answer, he smacked his lips and muttered to himself.

“Phew. Still haven’t come back?”

From his mutterings, it seemed something urgent was afoot.

At that moment, Yu Jinsan was already standing behind him with his hands clasped behind his back.

The man turned around in surprise.

“Oh, elder!? When did you come up?”

A shiny bald head and the familiar attire of the Heterodox factions.

He was Im Jeon-se, a disciple of the Defeating Blade Clan who had helped when buying this house.

Yu Jinsan snorted and replied.

“Just now. But didn’t you see our Seol? I thought she went to the Defeating Blade Clan.”

“Wasn’t she with you, elder? We’ve been looking for you two for five days.”

That meant Yu Seol’s disappearance wasn’t at the Defeating Blade Clan.

It also meant he’d wasted at least five days on the Muscle Changing Technique.

Frustrating as it was, the priority now was to learn the situation at the Defeating Blade Clan.

“By the way, what brings you here?”

“Ho County is on full alert right now. We came because we needed to consult with you, sir.”

This was the first he’d heard that Ho County was in an uproar.

He couldn’t have known since he’d spent over five days in a trance training only the Muscle Changing Technique.

In any case, if Baek Gyu didn’t come personally and sent subordinates, it meant something he couldn’t miss had happened.

“What do you mean? An alert status?”

“Haven’t you heard? It’s chaos. In recent days the Murim Alliance’s Shaanxi branch hall was smashed, and two secret branches were also raided.”

Yu Jinsan momentarily doubted his ears.

“The Shaanxi branch hall? That’s the place the Evil Sect Alliance failed to attack last time, isn’t it?”

It had been a full assault involving the Evil Sect Alliance’s leader, the Black Cat Sect’s head, and even Baek Gyu.

But he’d heard they retreated due to the appearance of the Blue Dragon Troops. Even if they hadn’t aided the Murim Alliance as promised, it wasn’t somewhere easy to assault.

“That’s right. This time it wasn’t the Evil Sect Alliance, the Evil factions’ wandering warriors stepped in and succeeded!”

They were at best called free fighters, Evil Faction masters not affiliated with any alliance.

But how many absolute masters with such capability could there be among them?

Naturally, doubts arose.

“An impressive result. But isn’t something odd? Exactly who were they?”

“Have you heard of the Extreme Killers Five? They claimed responsibility.”

It was a name he’d definitely heard before.

After tilting his head for a moment, Yu Jinsan widened his eyes as the memory flickered back.

They were the ones who had greeted his granddaughter at the market not long ago.

‘…No way?’

All five were experts beyond peak martial ranks, but for them alone to strike the Murim Alliance’s branch hall would be suicidal.

There must have been an accomplice.

“I know who the Extreme Killers Five are. But they alone wouldn’t be enough. Who else is involved?”

“They say a strange person with his face covered by a bamboo hat assisted them. There’s a witness who claims he was small in stature but an immense expert.”

Yu Jinsan raised one hand slightly above his own head height.

“Was his height about this much?”

Perhaps because he had guessed correctly, Im Jeon-se flinched and asked back.

“Uh, how did you know?”

Yu Jinsan rubbed his forehead with his left hand as if his head hurt.

The identity of that strange person was not hard to guess.

‘I should have noticed when she was hanging out with those strange guys at the market.’

The milk was already spilled. All he could do was hope she returned quickly.

“It’s the Yin Monster.”

Im Jeon-se, startled, craned his neck like a turtle and asked.

“Whaat? You mean that the strange person’s identity is our disciple?”

“I’m sure. I saw her being friendly with the Extreme Killers Five a few days ago.”

“Hahaha! Well then. Seol will become our hero now.”

“This isn’t something to laugh about. She didn’t cause any trouble, did she?”

“Trouble? The Murim Alliance’s misfortune is our happiness. Everyone in Ho County is cheering.”

His granddaughter’s influence in the martial world was growing stronger.

Wasn’t it the heterodox martial world that valued only martial skill and fame? The name of the Yin Monster now carried weight beyond even the Evil Sect Alliance leader.

Yu Jinsan couldn’t decide whether to like how things were changing.

In any case, it was something to ponder slowly.

“I understand the situation. You’re on alert in case the Murim Alliance tries to retaliate.”

“Yes, that’s one reason, but actually there’s a bigger problem.”

“What problem? Tell me it’s not related to our Seol.”

Im Jeon-se hesitated for a moment, then spoke cautiously.

“It’s not that. Have you heard of the Blood Death Guest?”

“I’ve heard it straight from your sect leader. He’s the one who came from the West and seeks out warriors across the land.”

“Yes, that’s right. In fact, that person is currently in Ho County.”

If his words were true, it was no ordinary matter.

Ho County could be razed to the ground.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. He sent a challenge to our sect leader.”

In Yu Jinsan’s judgment, Baek Gyu was not an opponent who could win.

Of all times, coming while his granddaughter was absent, he had to make plans.

The only one he could trust was the renegade monk Jeong Hye, but even that wasn’t reassuring.

“The date?”

“It’s tomorrow. What should we do?”

Worry filled Im Jeon-se’s face.

He too seemed to sense that his sect leader couldn’t defeat him.

“What do you mean what to do? Just refuse the challenge.”

“But what if he forces a fight?”

“Then isn’t that even better?”

“Eh? What do you mean by that…?”

“A duel and a fight are clearly different. Coming into a tiger’s den and picking a quarrel is something only a fool would do.”

Those words implied they didn’t have to engage in a fair contest.

Relieved by Yu Jinsan’s confidence, Im Jeon-se said.

“Then we’ll trust your clever plan, elder.”

“Alright. Don’t worry, let’s go to the Defeating Blade Clan first.”

Before leaving, Yu Jinsan didn’t forget to leave a note for his granddaughter.

One day remained until the Blood Death Guest arrived.

It was more than enough time to prepare for a guest.