I’m Your Older Sister. (1)

The warriors of Soyo Mountain Villa who arrived late could not hide their joy.

The Storm Rider they had been searching for so long was here.

But their joy was short-lived.

“Gr, Great Hero….”

They could not help feeling bewildered by the scene before them.

Because the Yin Monster who had guided them was pinching the Storm Rider’s cheek.

“The skin is so soft and squishy.”

Did the boy in front not know this was the Storm Rider? Or was he doing it even though he knew?

They couldn’t be sure, but all thought the latter was more likely.

But even so, they couldn’t bring themselves to stop him; the Yin Monster had been their benefactor and was a figure none would dare confront.

“Th-that person is….”

As they fretted, Yu Seol smiled, lifting her dimples.

“Puhuhu. It’s because he’s just so cute.”

If you stood the tiny child before them, his head wouldn’t even reach the chest; he looked nothing like the Storm Rider.

Besides, perhaps from having undergone Age Revival twice, his face was bright and alert.

Maybe that was why, to Yu Seol he was nothing more than an adorable little brother.

When she released the cheek-pinning hand, the attendants approached, relieved.

“E-elder! What on earth happened to you?”

“Why are you just sitting there so still?”

The Storm Rider remained cross-legged, not moving an inch.

They didn’t understand, but Yu Seol seemed to sense something.

“He’s in the midst of regulating his qi.”

“Huh? Wh-why….”

What the Storm Rider was performing now was not an ordinary qi-regulating exercise.

Through the wondrous Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique, the circulation of qi through his meridians was underway. It could not be stopped easily.

“It looks like internal injury. I’ll help so you can get up quickly.”

Interfering with another’s qi is not ordinarily easy.

Even most masters would not attempt such a thing; it requires extreme concentration and vast internal power.

Moreover, unless one was of equal or higher cultivation than the other, one wouldn’t dare.

“Is, is that really okay?”

Despite their concerns, the Yin Monster showed no hesitation.

“Don’t worry. This is my specialty.”

He had helped the old man’s qi many times and had never erred in those processes.

Sitting cross-legged behind the Storm Rider, Yu Seol slowly spread both hands like a crane’s wings.

Then she glanced down at his back and shoulders with an expression that said he was cute.

A moment later.

Yu Seol’s hands wrapped his back, fitting snugly with a soft ‘click.’

“It won’t take long, so keep everyone from coming near.”

“A-accepted.”

The Villa leaders of Soyo Mountain began to guard them and watch the surroundings.

Their eyes carried a deep resolve to prevent anyone from approaching.

Meanwhile, the Storm Rider himself was not in his right mind.

A mysterious master had suddenly appeared and was probing his qi and blood.

He couldn’t exactly welcome the situation.

“Please, just leave me alone….”

He knew the intention was to help, but the problem was that the qi pattern he was using was the Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique.

Its order and method differed from a normal one-cycle circulation.

If you didn’t understand the method, you couldn’t assist; worse, you might cause a backlash leading to demonic possession.

But Yu Seol showed no hesitation.

Soon the Storm Rider heard a small voice whisper in his ear.

“Stay still. Your sister will make sure you don’t get hurt.”

At that moment, he felt a deep wave of qi pour into his dantian like a tide.

It then began to circulate through his meridians in a precise pattern.

Amazingly, it matched exactly the method he had been using, without a single deviation.

“…Impossible. He grasped the secret of the Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique at a glance? That’s absolutely impossible!”

Maybe someone with superhuman memory and comprehension could do it, but even the most gifted could not.

The Storm Rider was convinced of that.

His head grew increasingly clouded by the incomprehensible situation.

“Who on earth is this? A demigod about to ascend? Whoever it is, they deserve great respect.”

For now, his priority was to quickly heal the internal injury and get up.

The rest could be checked afterward.

“Focus on the healing first. Details can wait until later.”

The mysterious qi matched his own vital qi and movements with no margin of error — a concentration beyond imagination.

He even felt a warmth as if a Buddha’s hand were guiding his meridians.

The astonishment knew no bounds.

With Yu Seol’s aid, the Storm Rider’s internal injury began to heal several times faster.

How much time had passed?

About half a kack remaining. In just half a kack he could finish and stand.

But as fate would have it, things did not go as planned.

Peeeeeek-!

It was the blast of a horn sounded not far away.

The Storm Rider’s heart grew urgently anxious.

“…Oh no! Has our location been discovered?”

They had hidden so well until now; he couldn’t help feeling regret.

It seemed likely those were the pursuers from Soyo Mountain Villa.

Yu Seol was equally alarmed.

If she released her hands now she’d be freed, but the Storm Rider’s meridians would tangle and he’d be in serious trouble.

As she hesitated, the warriors’ resolute voices came from behind.

“We’ll try to hold them off.”

“Don’t worry.”

“But please hurry, Great Hero.”

This place was not far from the stronghold of the White Flower Blood Cult.

There was no way they could stop the endless stream of enemies.

But if it was only to hold for a moment — just half a kack — they might break through this danger.

They had no choice but to trust them.

Soon they felt the presence of three warriors moving out beyond the waterfall.

At the same time, someone, presumably from the Blood Cult, shouted.

“Over there!”

Meanwhile, the Storm Rider and Yu Seol redoubled their qi circulation.

They strove desperately to finish even a bit faster.

Soon the sounds of weapons clashing outside began to be heard.

Kang-! Kaang-!! Ka-kang-!!

They couldn’t see, but from the sounds it seemed they were not being utterly overwhelmed.

All three were among the top ten fighters in Soyo Mountain Villa, and they were the very instructors who trained the warriors.

Perhaps for that reason, they seemed to be holding their ground fairly well.

Slash-! Thud-!! Skreek-!!

Sounds of cutting, stabbing, and slicing rang without end.

The screams among them did not include the voices of the three.

They were holding on, but the problem began now.

From not far away they felt a terrifying demonic aura approaching.

The Storm Rider felt a chill down his spine, and anxiety showed on Yu Seol’s face.

Soon they heard Cheol-woong mutter.

“…Extreme demon?”

A top-tier extreme-demon level master was not someone the Soyo Mountain warriors could stop.

One of them asked urgently.

“Y-Yin Monster Great Warrior! Are you still not finished?”

“It’s almost done, so don’t talk.”

Because the more their focus scattered, the slower it would go.

“O-okay.”

The moment he finished speaking, the sounds of battle changed.

Very fast and fierce, as if a storm were raging.

Ka-kang-!! Ka-ka-kang-!!!

At last, the fight with the Extreme Demon began.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

Judging by the groans, the situation did not look good.

At this rate, there would soon be victims.

One breath later in that desperate moment.

The Yin Monster’s lips moved, and a cry of relief burst out.

“Done!”

At last the long-running Jade Emperor Cultivation Technique had concluded.

At that instant, the Storm Rider’s tightly closed eyes snapped open.

Simultaneously, his spiritual form rose with a ‘whoosh’ while still cross-legged.

His top priority was to save the Soyo Mountain warriors immediately.

But someone moved even faster than him.

Zzzzooom-!!

The Storm Rider saw the Yin Monster’s back as he drove his fist into the extreme-demon’s abdomen.

Then the blast from that punch sent his spiritual form flying a dozen body-lengths.

He was left speechless at the monstrous strength.

“….”

Meanwhile, the warriors who had barely escaped approached the Storm Rider, panting.

“E-elder!”

“Are you all right?”

The Storm Rider nodded with a dazed expression and asked.

“Who is that person?”

The Soyo Mountain warriors hurried to explain.

“He is the Yin Monster Great Hero who pacified the western and southern martial worlds.”

“He is the pinnacle of the Heterodox factions.”

“He saved our Soyo Mountain Villa, which the Murim Alliance had abandoned.”

At that moment Yu Seol turned her head and winked with one eye.

The Storm Rider flinched at the eye contact and scanned the surroundings.

The Extreme Demon who had been knocked down a moment ago was getting to his feet and calling his subordinates.

However, they seemed frightened and unlikely to charge immediately.

“F-first, let’s move to another place.”

Since they were right in front of the enemy camp, it was inappropriate to converse leisurely here.

The Cult Leader and his henchmen could come swarming. Even with two masters of the Profound Realm present, there was no reason to fight under unfavorable conditions.

Soon the five of them began to move toward some place.

A basin on a wild mountain about thirty li from the White Flower Blood Cult.

Having shaken off their pursuers, they were catching their breath here.

“Phew. I almost died just now.”

The three who had held off the Extreme Demon still could not calm their startled hearts.

Not fatal injuries, but they all bore light wounds on their arms or shoulders.

“But the two of you are meeting for the first time, right? Please, talk comfortably.”

Indeed, Yu Seol was already looking down at the Storm Rider with a pleased smile.

At most he looked about seven years old: a chestnut-like head and deer-bright eyes. Yu Seol had a look that showed she didn’t know what to do with his cuteness.

“Th-thank you. I am called Storm Rider.”

“I am the Yin Monster~”

Was he trying to dominate from the first meeting? The way the Yin Monster looked down at him made the Storm Rider uncomfortable.

If one was the pinnacle of the Heterodox factions, they were generally treated with the highest respect in the jianghu. But the same applied to him.

On what basis did he look down on him?

Although in the martial world seniority is often measured by rank rather than age, he suddenly wondered how old the Yin Monster was.

“M-may I ask how long it’s been since you underwent Age Revival, Yin Monster Great Warrior? I experienced my second Age Revival over ten years ago.”

He emphasized being older than the Yin Monster to at least claim equal standing.

But Yu Seol didn’t want to lose at anything.

So she held up three fingers.

“Your sister has done it three times.”

Three Age Revivals? Incredible, but given her youthful looks and extraordinary martial prowess, it wasn’t absurd.

In any case, the Storm Rider had never seen anyone older than him — at least in the last fifty years.

He looked at the Soyo Mountain Villa leaders with a surprised face, his gaze asking if that statement was true.

But there was no way they knew the truth. Yet saying they didn’t know felt awkward.

So they added their own suppositions to explain.

“Yes, that’s probably correct.”

“I’ve heard the same.”

The world is vast and full of wonders.

The Storm Rider no longer doubted the Yin Monster.

Instead, he clasped his hands and bowed his head deeply.

“I-I suppose… Well, I beg your favor, sister.”

Yu Seol nodded and brushed his cheek with the back of her hand.

A short while later, the Storm Rider’s stomach let out a cry.

Grrr-kurk-!