A Warrior’s Pride. (2)

A suffocating silence settled over them.

After glaring at Tang So-cheon for a moment, Yu Seol turned back to finish the remaining bowl of noodles. To prioritize eating with a terrifying master before her—that was incomparable boldness.

Tang So-cheon blinked in disbelief, his eyes wide and hollow.

Yu Jinsan spoke softly to him. “She hasn’t finished her meal yet. Couldn’t you wait a moment?”

Perhaps because the Yang Monster had spoken politely, or because the Yin Monster was so imposing, Tang So-cheon’s agitation seemed to subside. He stood silently and waited for the Yin Monster to finish eating.

And Yu Jinsan watched his granddaughter eat her noodles.

‘Good call. Still, the brat has some sense.’

Yu Jinsan had finished his meal earlier, but Yu Seol was still enjoying hers. Wasn’t she the granddaughter who cared more about food than anyone? Yu Jinsan admired Tang So-cheon’s foresight in stopping the provocation at the right moment; had he not, a miserable end would have been inevitable.

“Wait a moment—I’m almost done,” Yu Seol said, lifting the bowl. She planned to eat everything—the broth and toppings included; it suited her taste.

“It’s fine—eat slowly.” Everyone’s gaze remained fixed on the Yin Monster: the Tang elders and the market crowd. Their morale was obviously shaken—seeing the Yin Monster eat nonchalantly while Tang So-cheon watched did that.

At that moment, the old man who had been trailing Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter shouted angrily, “I’ll close the market immediately—everyone go home!”

At his words, everyone stopped and began to disperse. Perhaps because the settlement moved like a single family, no one dared disobey. Yu Jinsan had expected it.

‘They don’t intend to share the duel’s outcome.’ Tang So-cheon was, more than most, the pillar the Tang family’s warriors relied on. If he fell, the Tang family would be shaken to its roots. This was meant to prevent that, even if only slightly.

The air turned cold in an instant. Those who remained were the Yin Yang Twin Monster, Tang So-cheon, and a few Tang elders.

Yu Seol set down her noodle bowl. A satisfied smile lingered on her face. “That was delicious.”

“Yes. Now that you’re full, you should digest it.”

Finally the Yin Yang Twin Monster straightened and rose. Facing them, Tang So-cheon examined both of them in turn. He looked cautious now, unlike his earlier confidence.

“Which of you two will face me?” he asked. He already expected the Yin Monster would fight him; he only wanted confirmation. His arrogant tone had softened—he had acknowledged the Yin Yang Twin Monster. As the saying goes: speak kindly and you’ll be spoken to kindly.

“I’ll fight.”

Yu Seol, buoyed by her full stomach, looked brighter than before.

At that moment, Yu Jinsan reassured Tang So-cheon in a few words. “You need not worry. I will not interfere under any circumstances.” By Yu Jinsan’s standards, Tang So-cheon deserved more respect than a clan head who had failed at raising his heirs. Once the match was settled, there was no need for emotional involvement.

“Keep that promise.”

In the middle of the market, two warriors faced each other on the hushed street. One was the Yin Monster—an upstart who had stormed onto the scene and instantly entered the ranks of the Ten Great Warriors; the other was the Tang family’s greatest warrior, revered as a hero of Sichuan Province. Though few watched, it was a duel that would unsettle the martial world.

“I will stake everything on a single exchange.” He meant not to prolong the battle, but to decide it in a single clash. His declaration was unsurprising. He intended to unleash an unprecedented deadly array that released every stored move at once—the Tang family’s supreme art, Thousand Flower Rain.

—Be careful, child. He will unleash a very dangerous art; do not let your guard down.

—Mm. I’ll handle it.

That ended the discussion. Yu Seol was a born brawler who liked to collide physically with her opponent. If she were told everything, the excitement would inevitably fade. That did not mean she could be ignored.

What kind of art was Thousand Flower Rain? It was a legendary technique every martial artist had likely heard of at least once.

Yu Jinsan was about to force the explanation through. —Listen to your grandpa. Anyway, this technique is called Thousand Flower Rain; it uses all stored moves… He stopped mid-transmission.

No—he had no choice; it wasn’t under his control. The telepathic message to Yu Seol had been cut off midway.

‘What, this brat?’

With his granddaughter closing her ears, there was nothing he could do; he could only hope she would handle it. He watched anxiously.

They stood six feet apart. They locked eyes, searching for an opening. In such fights, victory often depended on how quickly one closed the distance. But Yu Seol showed no intention of closing the gap. With one hand she casually extended the Dragon Flower Spear, letting it sway like a snake’s tail.

“Throw first.” She was offering to cede the first strike to an opponent using stored techniques—meaning she would take the attack standing in place, a terribly disadvantageous position.

Yu Jinsan sighed deeply while the Tang elders cheered. Tang So-cheon twitched his brow in displeasure. No one had ever been so arrogant before the Thousand Flower Rain. The Yin Monster had struck at the Tang sect’s last pride.

A storm of qi swirled around Tang So-cheon. The hem of his robe and the blood-red cloak fluttered as if caught in a gale. Then the countless hidden stored moves tucked into his robes revealed themselves—thousands, it seemed.

‘He’s going to fire that many stored moves at once?’

Yu Jinsan tensed; his anxiety mounted because his granddaughter made no defensive move. What on earth was she thinking? Still, she must have a plan. He held his breath, trusting her, and watched.

The qi storm intensified, his robe hems fluttering as if they’d tear. His gaze chilled like a blade. He slowly lowered his stance and brought both hands down. After another breath, suddenly his hands seemed to multiply into dozens—or at least that’s how it looked to Yu Jinsan.

The sight resembled the manifestation of a Thousand-Hand Guanyin with forty hands. Then countless afterimage-like hands unleashed all the stored moves in simultaneous bursts.

Papapapapat—!!! Everyone fell silent at the astonishing spectacle.

Yu Jinsan’s anxiety spiked because Yu Seol still made no move; she only held out one hand casually. Then his tension snapped away.

‘Air Spear Technique?’

The Dragon Flower Spear, extended before Yu Seol, rotated in the air like a windmill. It spun at a terrifying, unreadable speed—its whirlwind extending a dozen ranks. Immediately, the numerous stored moves Tang So-cheon had fired rushed toward the Dragon Flower Spear.

It was on a different level from the stored techniques used by the family lord, Tang So-gun. The sky filled with stored moves, cascading down like a rain of flowers—majestic and beautiful, yet lethally precise.

Was this what it looked like when the sharpest spear in the world clashed with a shield that could stop anything?

The self-spinning Dragon Flower Spear struck down every approaching stored move. Even the Tang elders gaped at the unbelievable sight. Yu Jinsan trembled at the power of the Spear Control Technique—something he’d never seen in real combat.

‘Amazing, our Seol! Splendid!’

Yu Jinsan clenched his hands and cheered for his granddaughter.

Countless stored moves surged to pierce the Dragon Flower Spear, but nothing could breach the barrier created by the Spear Control Technique; each attack was pulverized.

Kwak-kwak-thud! Kwak-kwak-thud!

The intensity of the sounds gradually lessened, and the number of stored moves dropped sharply. Shortly after, as if nothing had happened, only silence lingered. For those present it had felt like a long time, but everything had occurred in the blink of an eye.

“…Huh.” A deep sigh escaped Tang So-cheon’s lips. Perhaps from expending all his qi his face was pale and wan, yet he wore a satisfied expression, as if relieved to have released everything.

Then the Dragon Flower Spear danced toward him in the air, almost taunting—but no one could say a word. The Tang elders were stunned by the Spear Control Technique, a martial art of the highest order.

“A… Spear Control Technique?”

“So-cheon hyung…”

The Dragon Flower Spear guided by Yu Seol slowly hovered around Tang So-cheon as if possessed. It looked like it might cut his throat at any moment—or might not—seemingly debating when to strike.

He offered no resistance and gently closed his eyes. It was a sign that, having been defeated, he intended to accept death with dignity.

The Tang elders wailed. They wanted to save him, but what good would it do? His life was effectively in the Yin Monster’s grasp.

When everyone’s emotions reached a peak, Yu Jinsan said, “That will do.” At his single word, the Dragon Flower Spear instantly returned to Yu Seol’s hand.

“You haven’t even struck once yet?”

“Looking at his condition, it’s as if he’s been hit thousands of times already.”

“So we’re just leaving?”

“He is someone worthy of respect as a warrior.” He neither begged for his life nor tried to flee. Moreover, he acknowledged defeat so cleanly.

Yu Jinsan felt pleased to see a proper martial man after a long time.

In any case, Tang So-cheon looked utterly despondent, as if he’d lost everything. The weight carried by the title of the Tang family’s top warrior had finally broken him.

“…I wanted to play a bit more.”

“Enough—let’s go.” Their purpose in coming to the Tang family had been achieved. They would try to hush up today’s incident, but they themselves would know: the Tang family had been toppled by the Yin Yang Twin Monster.

Yu Jinsan grabbed his granddaughter and walked toward the village entrance. The Tang elders simply stared blankly at the two. Having witnessed the Spear Control Technique, what could they do? They didn’t even consider mobilizing the Dark Dragon Squad.

A short while later, at the village entrance, Yu Seol said, puzzled, “No one died this time either.”

“In the Southern Edge Sect as well as in the Tang family,” Yu Jinsan added. He had killed no one on this outing.

“Why? Are you worried Grandpa’s gone soft?”

“No—just curious.”

“There are reasons for everything. But if a situation arises where killing is necessary, I will do so without hesitation.” He knew from countless past experiences that in the murim world, the moment you hesitate is when you suffer.

Then the granddaughter, who’d been listening absentmindedly, stamped her foot and shouted, “Oh right! Grandpa, it’s a disaster!”

“A disaster? What is it?”

Yu Seol cried, distressed. “We left without collecting the house payment!”