Will You Perform The Ritual Or Die (1)

The steps on the way back were heavy for Yu Jinsan.

After summarizing his granddaughter’s babbling, he realized the strength they would face was not one to be taken lightly. It was like a well-laid trap.

‘If he had attacked blindly, he would have been done for.’

With an overwhelming difference in the number of warriors and leaders, there was no need to check the result. As expected, the situation was not easy.

Yu Jinsan, having put his granddaughter to sleep, quietly walked out of the residence.

Behind his manor was a small pond.

On top of the small pavilion built there, a middle-aged man in formal clothes was drinking alone.

His head shone in the moonlight, creating quite a charm.

“Hyung, you’re back?”

“I didn’t think you would be back so quickly. How long have you been waiting?”

Baek Gyu grabbed the bottle and smiled.

“When you have a drink with a friend, with the moon reflecting on the lake, you don’t notice the passage of time. But now that a more welcome friend has arrived, won’t the fun begin?”

Yu Jinsan smiled a bit and climbed onto the pavilion.

“I see you’re quite drunk, engaging in these romantic activities. Didn’t it go well?”

Baek Gyu sighed and shook his head.

“As expected, Hyung has a great sense of humor. I went alone and was disgraced.”

“Hurry up and tell me what happened then.”

“I met with the Alliance Leader in person. We didn’t have good ties with him originally, but I didn’t expect that damned jerk to not even listen to my words and just shut the door on me…”

Yu Jinsan could see the veins popping out on his friend’s head.

“Looking at the circumstances, it seems like they’re planning to side with our enemy.”

“I’m sure they are, considering their cowardly nature. I guess we’ll have to fight on our own.”

Yu Jinsan crossed his arms and thought. There is absolutely no way to reverse the power difference with the opponents now.

“When I went to scout the place, I saw them all fully prepared. There’s no chance of winning for us now, so we need to convince the Demon Heaven Alliance to fight alongside us.”

“Aren’t you overestimating the Killing Blood Clan? There are a lot of people, but without the Clan Leader, they aren’t much.”

Yu Jinsan sighed, feeling frustrated.

“How can people only think this positively? There are a good number of warriors like you in there.”

Baek Gyu poured him some alcohol without any change in expression and handed it to him.

“It has to be the Clan Leader. If I fight with him, one on one, I can win.”

“It looks like you know each other too well. Of course, if he accepts the duel, there’s nothing to worry about. In addition to him, there are three more skilled warriors waiting.”

Baek Gyu tilted his head.

“Is that true?”

“My granddaughter sensed it and told me. I didn’t see it for myself, though.”

Although she was a child, she had now reached the state of Grandmaster, which meant she could be trusted. If her senses caught it, then they could be certain of it.

Baek Gyu clenched his chin and fell into serious thought. It was truly unexpected that the enemies had grown to that extent.

“Hmm…”

“You don’t have enough strength to handle them on your own. Moreover, isn’t your wife trying to heal?”

His wife was the second-in-command of the clan. Even if she moved and crawled out with her wounds, she couldn’t do anything now.

“Then what do I do? If there’s any good way, then do advise me.”

“If we don’t move, they will come to you first. The only way is to convince the Demon Heaven Alliance before then and fight together.”

“How can I persuade those who won’t even talk to me?”

Yu Jinsan picked up his bottle and sipped from it. Then he stared at the moonlight and drew a picture in his head.

“As said, if the Alliance Leader is such a calculating person, he will join the stronger side. As long as you show that our clan is stronger, it will be easy for us to get them.”

“But aren’t both of our clans so similar? The overall strength is the same, as is the number of skilled warriors.”

“There is one way.”

Yu Jinsan explained the plan.

Baek Gyu’s expression changed with every word he heard. After a while, having heard the entire explanation, he asked, puzzled.

“You are saying we scam them?”

“Isn’t our clan in the most extreme situation? And since when did the Evil Sects start being this righteous?”

“I never had the right to choose the side of a sect from the beginning. It is something I inherited from my father.”

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. But that is the only way.”

After hesitating for a moment, Baek Gyu picked up a glass full of alcohol and began to gulp it down.

After emptying every drop, he wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve and shouted.

“Kuak, nice! I will put everything aside and just trust Yu Jinsan!”

“Good thought. Time isn’t on our side, so this probably isn’t the time to relax. Let’s leave as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

The next morning.

Yu Jinsan, carrying his granddaughter, headed to the Demon Heaven Alliance with Baek Gyu.

The place they arrived at after walking through the city was the southern side manor of Ho County.

“Is this really going to work? That guy is so clever that he will not be fooled easily.”

“I feel relieved to hear that.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

“Sometimes, the deeper a person thinks, the more likely they are to fall for such tricks.”

“Hehe. Seriously.”

“And keep in mind that to win his heart, you cannot kill anyone. Just use martial arts enough to discourage them from fighting.”

“I am keeping that in mind, so don’t worry.”

They talked a lot and soon arrived at their destination.

Baek Gyu took a deep breath and gazed at the child on Yu Jinsan’s back.

“I only trust you, Seol. If everything goes well, I will buy you lots of snacks.”

Yu Seol’s face lit up with a huge smile at those words, and she reached out her hand toward Baek Gyu’s head.

Normally, he would avoid a child’s touch, but for some reason, he remained still now.

“Hi~.”

“I am letting you touch me; this is exclusive.”

Her fern-like hand stroked the Clan Leader’s head. If his subordinates had seen it, they would have fainted. After a while, Baek Gyu, having mentally prepared himself, walked toward the manor.

As a famous person in Ho County, his face was well-known.

Among the two warriors at the entrance, the one on the left showed confusion.

“Why is the Clan Leader here?”

Standing tall among the warriors, he spoke without blinking an eye.

“I came to meet your leader.”

The guards all tilted their heads in shock.

“…Uh?”

They couldn’t believe that only two people had come here. It seemed like a joke to them. But Baek Gyu’s expression was too serious for that.

In a fleeting moment, his hands swept to the sides, like a hawk spreading its wings.

A powerful flow of qi surged forth, and the warriors were visibly startled.

Despite their desperate attempts to avoid it, Baek Gyu’s strike was as swift as lightning.

In the blink of an eye, his palm struck the warrior in the chest.

Kukung!

“Kuak!”

“Ack!”

The surprised warriors were thrown back, their feet lifting off the ground.

It was at that moment that their backs slammed into the gate.

Kwang!!

The main gate of the alliance burst open with a resounding crack. A roar erupted inside at the sight of the guards sprawled awkwardly in the front yard.

Flustered warriors crowded around, weapons in hand, as the sound of shouts filled the air.

Yu Jinsan and Baek Gyu calmly walked inside.

“What the hell is this?”

One of the elders of the alliance emerged, looking shocked. Around 30 warriors were gathered, and their numbers were still climbing.

“From now on, my clan is taking over this place. Those who surrender will not be harmed.”

Yeo Il, the elder of the alliance, tilted his head as he heard this and whispered something to a warrior.

Eventually, a few people looked over the wall.

“There is no one, Elder. It looks like the two of them are the only ones who came.”

Yeo Il laughed as if dumbfounded and glared at Baek Gyu.

“Clan Leader Baek. Why have you come to another person’s manor to do such a crazy thing? Did our alliance seem that easygoing for you to treat us like this?”

Although the Demon Heavenly Alliance was no match for his clan when considering overall strength.

His clan, which kept the Killing Blood Clan in check, wouldn’t be able to use its full strength without permission. Therefore, there was nothing for the alliance to fear.

Even though he was the Clan Leader here and knew this well, his odd behavior persisted.

“I came here because it was easy. So I will not say it twice.”

At that moment, Yeo Il sensed something was off.

Even though Baek Gyu’s martial arts skills were advanced, there were limits to what one person could do alone.

His attitude was too confident. Moreover, the two swords hanging at his waist weren’t even drawn.

How dare this man take their alliance so lightly? It was an unnatural situation.

“Let’s see if there is anything you believe in. But whatever it is, be prepared to pay the price for provoking us.”

Yeo Il glanced at the warriors as they surrounded Baek Gyu and Yu Jinsan, blocking their escape route.

Yet, they didn’t even blink.

It was then that Baek Gyu suddenly bowed his head to this unknown old man.

“Elder, it is them.”

The old man wore a bamboo hat that they hadn’t cared about until now. Although he lacked presence, he seemed unthreatening, especially since he carried a child on his back.

But things were about to change.

Who was Baek Gyu? The Clan Leader was a formidable opponent.

‘…Elder?’

Confusion reigned when the child on the man’s back whispered something into the old man’s ear.

At that moment, the old man’s index finger pointed to a hall on the left.

“The guy hiding there and watching! Won’t you come out right now?!”

Both the warriors of the alliance and the elder were shocked. The location of their leader had been discovered.

For those at the peak of their powers, sensing their presence was difficult because they contained their qi. Yet, finding the location meant that he was superior to them.

Swish!

A man in a red robe walked out, looking nervous. His frown seemed directed at Yu Jinsan.

Yeo Il urgently sent a message.

-This is no ordinary man. Do you recognize him?

-How could I? It’s shocking that Baek Gyu was concealing such a person until now.

-Judging by his age, he appears to have been an amazing warrior in the past. This doesn’t feel right. Don’t issue hasty orders; just test him.

After a moment’s thought, the Alliance Leader silently issued an order.

The warriors, receiving the signal, charged at the old man with their bare hands.

Tak!

His body movements were unusual. At first glance, he was a first-class warrior. Then, his hand reached for the old man’s collar.

For a second, the eyes of all the onlookers widened. They were astonished to see a man rise into the air as if a ghost had snatched him up.

“Kuaak!”

It was an eerie sight to watch someone float uncontrollably like that.

“Wh-what is this?”

“Void Air Movement?”

“It can’t be…”

Everyone was bewildered by the unprecedented sight, but their surprise didn’t end there.

The old man reached for the guy, and at that moment, his stomach caught on fire, just as he had been waiting for. The child on his back was actually stretching out her hand, but no one paid attention to it.

At that time, the Alliance Leader, who was watching this, appeared lost and mumbled as if he were possessed.

“Samadhi True Flame…”

The Samadhi True Flame was a method of creating flame using qi. Although it didn’t consume much qi, it was significant in that it was a technique that could only be used by someone with an abundance of qi.

The alliance warrior, enveloped in flames in the air, was scared.

“Please save me.”

At that moment, Yu Jinsan stretched out his hand and ripped off his burning clothes.

Chaak!

Fortunately, he overcame the crisis without any major wounds, but his clothes were what got torn.

But what was the importance of shame in this situation? He was barely surviving, so he ran with the clothes he still had on.

“This is the only time I will handle this situation like this. If anyone wants to test me again, I will burn through your souls.”

Nearly a hundred warriors were present, but no one spoke.

In deep silence, Yeo Il sent this message to the leader.

-It is clear that he is an absolute warrior who has reached great achievements. Even if everyone in the Killing Blood clan rushes in, they wouldn’t be able to take him down, so I don’t think fighting him would do good.

Even without the elder’s advice, he had already completed his analysis.

Jang Ryang, the Alliance Leader, took a deep breath and said,

“I speak. My name is Jang Ryang. From now on, our alliance will officially support your clan. The enemies of yours are no different from the enemies of ours.”

It was a clear declaration of surrender.

Baek Gyu’s expression instantly brightened at those words.

“Good idea. I have always wanted to be like brothers with Jang Ryang. Now let us forget about the past and live well now.”

After saying that, he tried to approach Jang Ryang, but Yu Jinsan blocked him with his left hand.

“Not enough.”

Jang Ryang was puzzled.

“You don’t trust us. Do you want me to write a contract?”

Yu Jinsan shook his head, knowing no contract would suffice.

The power he had shown here was a deception, involving his granddaughter.

Therefore, if this scam were exposed, they would back out. It was necessary to ensure a safety measure in case they discovered the truth.

“If you really have the will to join us, you should show it through your actions.”

“What actions are you talking about…?”

Instead of answering, Yu Jinsan’s gaze rested on Baek Gyu’s shiny head.

Then, Jang Ryang noticed something, and he was shocked.

“No, no way!”

His ominous thoughts weren’t so misplaced.

Yu Jinsan nodded, affirming his thoughts once more.

“There are no exceptions. Choose whether you want to be killed by me or go through the ritual of becoming a brother.”