The Lively Provocateur. (3)

A leaning tree stood motionless before Yu Jinsan.

He stared at the odd tree and felt, instinctively, that something was wrong.

This was definitely the spot he’d passed earlier. What on earth was going on?

It felt as if he’d been circling the same place for a long time—something common sense couldn’t explain.

After a moment he pieced it together.

Have I been trapped in a formation? Since when?

He’d been advancing with the utmost caution; this made no sense.

Strangely, the X formation affected a very wide area. The Tianzhu X formation he faced for the first time was astounding.

They were more terrifying than he’d imagined. But he wasn’t someone who would be taken down like this.

The usual way out was to find and destroy the objects forming the formation.

But that would take time—and what if the warrior dragon returned in the meantime? Just imagining it was horrifying.

He needed another plan.

After thinking, Yu Jinsan chose a secondary option. Although it would expose his position, he would dash through the sky like his granddaughter and break out.

If I can just shake off the gold-masked man, that’s all I need. I’ll break through head-on.

Once his resolve hardened, there was no room for hesitation.

He bent his knees and launched himself with all his strength.

Ta-at!

His divine form shot upward through the treetops by more than ten meters. From that height he glanced down, bewildered.

Red-masked figures watched the sky from the trees here and there.

Had they anticipated his escape? Their preparations were surprising—but not insurmountable.

Well then, if you’re confident, try to chase me.

His feet ran over the void.

Here, the only expert likely able to use Void Stepping was the gold-masked man.

As expected, he soon felt someone on his trail.

When he glanced back, it was indeed the man wearing a golden mask.

Something sharp flashed in the man’s hand under the moonlight.

No way—could he be using a hidden weapon?

Just as Yu Jinsan suspected, he sensed something approaching and twisted, spinning his body.

Whir-r-r!

In that fleeting instant something brushed his collar by a hair’s breadth. Up close it was a rotating, razor-sharp hidden weapon crackling with fierce energy—enough to tear muscle with even a graze.

He sighed and lowered his altitude. As a Supreme realm practitioner, his lightness skill couldn’t let him fly forever like his granddaughter.

A moment later, with his feet about to land on a nearby tree, a cold killing intent rose from beneath him.

“…Gah?!”

Startled, Yu Jinsan thrust the Dragon Slaying Spear downward.

Kwaaaang!!!

With a violent explosion his divine form shot upward again.

“Ugh!”

He felt a heavy impact in his grip, but there was no time to dwell. A new enemy was approaching from below.

So the blue-masked man was still alive?

An absolute master whose mind had been stolen by the evil arts of Little Thunderclap Temple. He must once have been one of the fearsome masters of the southern martial world.

Commander Il Kwang had claimed all the blue-masked men were dead, but apparently one had survived.

One man alone couldn’t take on two Supreme realm warriors; he had to kill this one first if he wanted any chance.

Yu Jinsan flipped his body and pulled the spear back. He used one of the Unique Lethal Kills his granddaughter had taught him: Tentacle One Hundred and Eight Strikes. It was extreme, but he was willing to risk it.

Pa-pa-pa-pat!!

Fierce qi erupted from the Dragon Slaying Spear, extending like tentacles as they began to engulf the blue-masked man.

Yet the man wasn’t a pushover. An unprecedentedly brutal swordsmanship unfolded beneath his feet. Dozens of split sword qi strands tangled with the tentacle bundles, throwing off dazzling sparks.

Zzjeong! Zzejjeojeojung!!

After a breath, the clamorous roar abruptly subsided.

Landing, Yu Jinsan staggered, his face dark.

It had been an invincible spear technique that never failed him—yet against the blue-masked man it seemed insufficient.

Damn it. This is a mess.

The blue-masked man staggered, his left arm hanging in tatters. Annoyed, he severed it completely with a single stroke from the sword in his right hand.

Suh-keok!

He cut off his own arm without the slightest hesitation or sound. No matter how insane, merely watching it chilled Yu Jinsan.

To make matters worse, the gold-masked man who had pursued him had already cut off the escape route and taken position.

“Finally caught you, you rat.”

Yu Jinsan ignored the taunt and checked himself. Blood soaked his left ankle from a wound sustained in the recent clash.

This is bad… fleeing was the wrong choice.

He was facing two Supreme realm opponents. The situation was unfavorable and time wasn’t on his side. If the warrior dragon that had followed his granddaughter returned, he would be killed. There was no time to dither.

He drew a deep breath and slowly took the prayer beads from his left hand.

I’m not pleased about it, but this time I’ll have to rely on you.

No sooner had he taken out the beads than a dark aura seeped from his left hand—the evil aura of a demon emerging after a long absence. His fingertips trembled; the sealed thing was itching to run rampant.

“Come forth.”

He gripped the short spear in his right hand and let his left hang free. The gold-masked and blue-masked men readied themselves, pacing their breathing.

The gold-masked man seemed versed in spear techniques; the blue-masked man gripped his sword tightly in his right hand.

A suffocating silence fell.

Then, at one moment, a bird flew up from among them.

Flap-flap!

That was the signal.

As if by agreement, the two masked men charged like pouncing blades.

Ta-at!

Yu Jinsan gritted his teeth and braced for impact.

Zzeok! Kwaang!!

“Ugh!”

He managed to defend against both strikes, but then the real problem began. They plunged at his left and right and unleashed a full-scale assault.

Until now the masked warriors had tried to capture the resistance’s masters, but these two seemed intent on killing—likely provoked by the earlier confrontation in front of their base.

Zzejeok! Kwang! Zzeok!! Kwakwang!!

Their combined attack was stronger than expected; from the start he couldn’t find his footing.

His left hand spread dark aura to block the gold-masked man’s approach while his right, clutching the short spear, frantically parried the blue-masked man’s strikes. Surrounded front and rear, his wounded foot had to keep moving without rest. He couldn’t even dream of counterattacking.

How long he could hold out was the only question. At this rate the outcome was obvious.

This is bad. I need to come up with something.

He needed a way to turn the tide. He had to take one of them down first, by any means.

There was only one gamble he could take.

Flesh-shearing, bone-breaking. Give up flesh and carve bone.

There’s only one chance. If I fail, I die.

He would forsake defense and go all out to kill one. If Vajra Indestructible held, he might have a chance. His target: the blue-masked man whose left arm had been severed. A crippled opponent would be easier to finish.

With resolve, he narrowed his brow and thrust the Dragon Slaying Spear with all his strength.

Zzeoeng!!

The spear and the blue-masked man’s sword snapped together like magnets. He’d used an Internal Reverse Weapon technique of the Yu Family Wind Slaying Spear to momentarily bind the opponent’s weapon.

At the same moment Yu Jinsan turned his left hand—previously defending against the gold-masked man’s dual strikes—toward the blue-masked man.

A palm strike from the gold-masked man slammed into his back.

Zzeok!!

“Ugh!”

It felt as if his spine had been broken, but he couldn’t stop. Yu Jinsan threw his left hand at the blue-masked man’s dantian with every last ounce of strength.

A sudden, irregular attack followed. His all-or-nothing gamble paid off.

Zzeok!!!

The black hand pierced the blue-masked man’s protective qi and stabbed through his dantian. The blue-masked man collapsed.

But Yu Jinsan was not unscathed. Once again the gold-masked man’s long blade jabbed into his side.

Puh-eok!!

“Guhk!”

He staggered his torso and scrambled to put distance between them. Black blood flowed from his mouth; severe internal injuries wracked him.

Still, relief surged through him. Without the Vajra Indestructible Divine Arts he would have died instantly. Though his appearance was dreadful, a smile tugged at his face—his plan had worked.

“Earlier you had the nerve to call this old man a rat. Now I’ll twist that arrogant mouth of yours.”

The gold-masked man raised his sword diagonally and spoke in a clumsy voice.

All mouth—you can barely stand.

It certainly looked that way. Yu Jinsan panted, leaning on the Dragon Slaying Spear, as if a slight touch would topple him. The gold-masked man didn’t know Yu Jinsan had mastered Vajra Indestructible.

At last the man spoke in a weary voice.

“Shut up and come quickly. I want to finish this and rest.”

No sooner had he finished than he moved.

Ta-at!

In an instant he closed the distance to less than a meter and began his final thrust toward Yu Jinsan’s chest.

The dying Yu Jinsan seemed too weak even to dodge.

But as the technique neared, his divine form moved like lightning and twisted at a strange angle.

Paa-ang!!

That evasive movement was not something a dying man could perform. Bewilderment filled the eyes behind the golden mask; only now did the man notice the deception.

Having slipped past the attack, Yu Jinsan plunged toward his opponent’s chest and thrust with his right hand. The gold-masked man hurriedly closed his left hand into a defensive posture—but he had overlooked one more thing.

This too was ruse.

Yu Jinsan’s hand, aimed to strike, closed like a serpent’s maw and twisted the man’s wrist.

Teo-up!

He bound him so he couldn’t escape. From point-blank range, something surged up at terrifying speed: a wicked movement surpassing Supreme realm physical ability.

A black hand imbued with pure evil gripped the gold-masked man’s jaw and twisted mercilessly.

Udeu-deuk!

It happened in the blink of an eye. The gold-masked man’s neck snapped and he crumpled.

Plop!

The fallen man’s eyes held grievance as he fell. Yu Jinsan looked down for a moment and let out a deep sigh, then, with unsteady steps, moved off toward somewhere.

“Hoo…”

Leaning against a tree, Yu Jinsan gasped for breath.

How much time had passed? His sensations had long since dulled. Veins across his body swollen as if about to burst—was it from internal injuries and a weakened body and mind? The evil qi he’d been suppressing with the Muscle Changing Technique had slipped out of control.

Now even putting the prayer beads back on was useless.

Such matters weren’t important in the present moment.

Is this the end?

Though he’d hidden his body, if the warrior dragon came nearby the chance of discovery was high. If it returned, only death remained.

Yu Jinsan stared blankly at the sky. After a little while, a streak of light flew by like a blade toward somewhere.

Has it finally come?

Watching idly, he suddenly opened his eyes wide. He sensed a familiar aura in that passing streak of light.

How could he not know its owner? Since he hadn’t returned to headquarters, his granddaughter must have come looking for him.

He squeezed out his voice with all his strength.

“…Ah-ga, Grandpa’s here!”

Although his voice was small, his granddaughter could not have missed it. The streak of light that had sped past suddenly changed direction sharply and approached.

“Gra-grandpa! What happened?”

Yu Seol hugged him tightly, tears dropping like chicken droppings. She could see at a glance that the situation was critical.

Teo-up!

The energy of the Buddha Lion Roar Divine technique surged from her right hand and began to penetrate his dantian. As it circulated through his meridians, the wild evil qi calmed quickly and his internal injuries slowly healed.

Strangely, his outward appearance still looked dire.

“Kk…”

He trembled as if seized by a chill and groaned. Watching him, Yu Seol choked up.

“Gra-grandpa, you can’t die. How would I live alone…”

But Yu Jinsan had no intention of dying. His hand trembled and slowly rose. Finally his index finger pointed toward the area near his granddaughter’s neck.

“Th-then quickly do that…”