Chapter 216

It was just after Jin So-eun had taken down all the attackers who had lunged at her.

Now fully recognizing her as a formidable opponent, the assailants closed in from all sides, shouting:

“A master!”

“Attack all at once!”

“Die!”

Whoosh!

A dozen or so sword strikes came flying at Jin So-eun from every direction.

There was no opening to escape—she was completely surrounded.

Without hesitation, she began spinning her short staff around her body.

It looked as if a tiny dragon was circling her, turning her into a small whirlwind.

At that moment, the dozen sword strikes rained down mercilessly on her.

“Hah!”

“Die!”

Slash!

But none of the blades actually touched her.

The swirling vortex of her staff deflected every single sword edge with precise, unyielding force.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

“Ugh!”

“Impossible!”

“No way!”

It was an astonishing sight.

Not only had she blocked the attacks, but she had struck each blade’s edge with pinpoint accuracy to send them flying back. If she had simply emitted a protective aura, it might have been less surprising.

Jin Gye-gun finally opened his mouth, muttering in disbelief.

“Really… the Natural Staff Technique?”

At that moment, having successfully defended herself, Jin So-eun charged toward her enemies.

The whirlwind of her staff surged forward, sweeping through the attackers.

Bababababak!

“Arrgh!”

“Ahhh!”

Jin So-eun tore through the group like a wolf pack attacking a flock of sheep. The attackers, who had seemed so confident moments before, now fell helplessly like prey.

Then, the leader of the attackers stepped forward.

He slowly swung his great sword and shouted to his men:

“Fools! Fall back!”

At his command, the remaining able-bodied men hurriedly retreated.

Jin So-eun didn’t pursue them; instead, she fixed her gaze on the approaching leader.

He smiled slyly and said,

“Girl, you use quite an interesting staff technique. Is that by any chance the Natural Staff Technique of the Jin family?”

But Jin So-eun said nothing.

Her eyes locked onto the opponent’s sword, which now radiated a vivid yellow aura.

The sword’s energy extended over an inch beyond the blade—clearly the mark of someone with at least seventy years of internal energy cultivation.

‘An aura…’

Jin So-eun licked her lips nervously.

She still didn’t know exactly where she stood—whether she was second-rate, first-rate, or at the pinnacle.

She could emit energy shaped like a staff, so she must have surpassed the first-rate barrier, but since she couldn’t yet wield aura, it was clear she hadn’t reached the pinnacle.

Her grandfather, Jin Samong, had always told her:

“The Natural Staff Technique master, your great-grandfather, said that ranks like first-rate or pinnacle don’t matter much in the Natural Staff Technique. What truly matters is how well you can communicate with the staff and breathe life into it.”

Her grandfather, who usually scolded her with tiger-like eyes, would always wear a dreamy expression when he said that, as if recalling a distant memory.

Perhaps witnessing the Natural Staff Technique firsthand had shaped his entire life.

Because of her grandfather’s words, she hadn’t focused much on cultivating internal energy.

She could emit external energy shaped like a staff, but she thought, ‘Since I won’t use it that way anyway, why bother?’

But now, facing a pinnacle-level opponent, the pressure was intense.

That sharp aura—once it touched her wooden staff, it would snap like a fragile twig.

She swallowed hard.

The pinnacle master, known as Poshiham, a notorious pirate from the South Sea and now one of the Four Kings of Baekgyobang, smirked and said,

“Don’t be so nervous, girl. I don’t intend to kill you. We need a living heir of the Jin family too.”

With that, he charged like a beast.

His yellow aura flashed like lightning, aiming to slice through Jin So-eun’s staff.

Whoosh!

He never doubted his sword would cut through her staff.

With her reaction speed, which didn’t seem pinnacle-level, she couldn’t possibly block his strike.

Indeed, Jin So-eun stared at his attack with a startled look.

But her staff had a mind of its own.

Whirl!

It spun naturally and, as if by some unspoken agreement, struck Poshiham’s sword edge precisely.

Ting!

Just like before, it didn’t seem like Jin So-eun had swung it.

It was as if the staff moved on its own.

Poshiham’s eyes twitched, and he smoothly swung his sword again to strike the staff.

“Not bad!”

Whoosh!

But the result was the same.

Thwack!

Her staff once again deflected his sword edge perfectly.

Poshiham was dumbfounded.

A plain wooden staff, without any aura or energy emitted, had just blocked his sword’s aura.

No matter how sharp the aura, if it hit the flat side of the blade, it couldn’t cut through the staff—this was obvious.

Now his eyes darkened with fury.

He had briefly underestimated her vacant expression, but now he knew he had to take her seriously or risk humiliation.

“Hah!”

His yellow aura flared longer and stronger, swirling around Jin So-eun like a storm.

Chuuuaaaak!

At that moment, Jin So-eun recalled a memory from her training.

She had once asked her grandfather:

“Then how did Great-grandfather Natural Staff defeat those who emitted aura without using aura himself?”

Her grandfather, always dreamy when recalling the past, had chuckled softly and said,

“No matter how sharp the aura is, what good is it? If the blade never touches, it can’t cut—just like a kitchen knife, ha ha ha!”

Remembering that, Jin So-eun felt a strange surge of inspiration.

Her grandfather had been right.

Aura was just a blade.

If it never made contact, it couldn’t cut.

A bright smile began to spread across Jin So-eun’s face as she focused on the incoming sword strikes.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

Poshiham’s storm of sword strikes all missed.

Each one had been deflected by the flat side of her staff.

Anger began to cloud Poshiham’s face.

“That brat, how dare she!”

The storm of yellow aura grew fiercer, filled with murderous intent.

Poshiham had abandoned the idea of capturing her alive.

His sword strikes, filled with the will to cleave her in two, surged toward Jin So-eun.

Whoosh!

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

The storm of sword strikes and the whirlwind of her staff clashed fiercely, grinding against each other for a long moment.

Everyone watching was stunned.

The attackers shouted in disbelief.

“The boss is losing?!”

“To a little girl like that?!”

Indeed, it was Poshiham who was slowly retreating.

The man who had been relentlessly attacking was now stepping back, hesitating.

The onlookers from the Later Stage Qi faction were equally shocked.

“No way!”

“Jin So-eun is incredible…”

Jin Gye-gun clenched his teeth, eyes filled with a mix of awe and envy.

“Natural Staff Technique… this can’t be…”

Seizing the opening as Poshiham’s sword was deflected, Jin So-eun swung her staff hard.

Smack!

“Ugh!”

Poshiham was struck in the torso and slammed through the cabin wall, flying outside.

Crash!

The Later Stage Qi faction erupted in cheers.

“She did it!”

“Jin So-eun is amazing!”

Meanwhile, the attackers looked on in horror.

“Boss!”

“How could this happen!”

But despite the excitement around her, Jin So-eun’s expression was far from bright.

She knew the blow hadn’t been that powerful.

Poshiham hadn’t been knocked back by the impact—he had used the force to leap away on his own.

Sure enough, standing at the ship’s edge, he grinned and beckoned her.

“Tch!”

Jin So-eun bit her lip.

It was frustrating.

If only she could use aura like him, she could have ended it with that strike.

But regretting what she couldn’t do was useless.

She had to finish this while she had the momentum.

“Hah!”

Jin So-eun leapt forward toward the ship’s edge.

Poshiham waited calmly, as if unfazed by the earlier hit.

“Well then, miss, shall we start again?”

His casual attitude irritated her, but she scoffed to keep her spirits up.

“Hmph! Doing this here won’t be any different than before—”

Before she could finish, she realized she wasn’t facing just one opponent.

Voices came from behind and on both sides.

“Tsk tsk, youngest one, running away after getting hit by a little girl like that? Pathetic.”

“Kuahahahaha! You don’t mean to say she ran away, do you? The youngest brought her here for us to enjoy, didn’t he, brother?”

“That’s right, brother. Even with her head shaved like a man, she’s quite a cute woman, isn’t she? I bet holding her would be an interesting experience, kuhehehe!”

Posiham chuckled softly at his sworn brothers and said,

“You shouldn’t underestimate her like that, brothers. She’s a flower with thorns. If we want to catch and enjoy her properly, we’ll have to work together.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Jin So-eun’s expression turned blank as she stared at the attackers closing in from all four directions.

Four men wielding swords, each blade radiating a vivid yellow aura.

All four were masters at the peak of their art.

It was hopeless.

Then Posiham let out a deadly laugh and shouted,

“Brothers, let’s go!”

At once, the four peak masters charged at her, shouting battle cries.

“Hyah!”

“Let’s have some fun!”

“Try struggling all you want!”

From every direction, the yellow sword auras surged like a storm.

Jin So-eun gritted her teeth and swung her short staff.

“Take this!”

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

It was an astonishing sight.

Her short staff spun around her like a whirlwind, deflecting every sword strike from the four attackers.

Bound tightly and dragged to the side was Jin Gae-in, who gawked in disbelief.

She never imagined her half-sister could be such a formidable fighter.

Yet, despite the shocking display, the Four Kings of Baekgyobang showed no sign of panic.

Instead, they laughed with excitement, brandishing their swords and shouting,

“Ha ha ha! Incredible, truly incredible! Just as the youngest said, she’s a woman with razor-sharp thorns!”

“Hehehe! She’s flapping around like a live fish, brothers!”

“A live fish is best when sliced fresh. Now, let’s slice her up!”

“Come on, woman, flap a little more!”

Unfortunately, their words were no empty boast.

Their sword strikes grew faster and faster.

Jin So-eun’s short staff struggled to keep up.

Shing! Shing!

Eventually, a blade slipped past her guard, slicing the collar of her clothes.

Cuts began to appear on her forearms, thighs, and fabric, tearing her outfit to tatters.

“Ugh!”

She clenched her teeth.

But there was no other way.

If she didn’t block with her staff, her clothes would be shredded—and if she lost her weapon, it would all be over.

Posiham shouted to her,

“Throw away your clothes to protect your weapon, a true warrior’s spirit, woman! But even that ends now!”

At that moment, the four swords came at her with a speed unlike before.

One strike might be manageable, but four at once? Impossible to block simultaneously.

Despair flickered across her face.

“No…!”

Then—

Kra-zzzt!

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed, followed by the sound of something collapsing.

It came from the boats surrounding the Jin family’s ship.

Startled by the noise, the Four Kings of Baekgyobang hesitated, stepping back from Jin So-eun to look toward the source.

What they saw was astonishing.

One of the enemy boats encircling the Jin family’s ship suddenly split cleanly in two and began to sink.

“W-what is that?”

“Why did the boat just…?”

They couldn’t comprehend the situation.

How could a perfectly fine boat suddenly be cut in half like it was sliced by a sword?

Even the soldiers on that boat seemed clueless about what had happened.

They stumbled, losing balance, and fell into the river in confusion.

“Ahhh!”

“The boat’s sinking!”

Breathing heavily, Jin So-eun watched the sinking, split boat.

Then something caught her eye.

At the tip of the tilting mast stood a man, perfectly upright.

Unmoved by the sinking ship beneath him, he stood calmly.

Clad in white robes that seemed to glow faintly against the darkening evening sky.