Chapter 247
Whoooosh!
Jin So-eun stared up at the sky, her eyes vacant and stunned.
The entire sky was covered by a falling metal net—a sight that felt like it might be the last thing she ever saw.
But then, a voice reached her ears.
“Jump straight up!”
The voice was clear and unmistakable. Earlier, in her daze, she’d been unsure, but now there was no doubt.
It was Sun Woo-jin’s voice transmitted directly to her.
Gritting her teeth, Jin So-eun leapt toward the net.
It was like throwing herself headfirst into a trap filled with explosives, yet she hesitated not for a moment.
“Eek!”
And then, as if by some miracle, the net that was about to engulf her split apart.
Whoooosh!
Through the gap, Jin So-eun saw the blue sky beyond, as if she were dreaming.
Suddenly, a surge of energy coursed through her entire body.
Not just because she’d escaped death, but because she’d heard his voice—Sun Woo-jin’s voice.
Her heart swelled with joy.
‘So that’s it! He never abandoned me! He’s been watching all along!’
Not only had he not forsaken her, but he’d been secretly helping her whenever she was in danger.
A wave of emotion flooded her heart.
The betrayal she’d felt moments ago transformed instantly into overwhelming gratitude—a startling experience.
Feeling exhilarated, Jin So-eun looked around.
For some reason, she felt like she could do anything.
Whoooosh!
From below, a cloud of dust rose from the explosion.
The brown dust billowed like a soft, murky cloud.
Soon, it would completely envelop her.
Watching the dust rise, Jin So-eun thought to herself,
‘Can I do this?’
Then, after a moment’s pause,
‘Only one way to find out.’
Without hesitation, she lightly stepped onto the rising dust.
Thud!
In the next instant, an astonishing sight unfolded.
By stepping on the dust, Jin So-eun lifted herself lightly forward into the air.
‘It worked!’
It was an incredible experience.
Granted, she’d caught a powerful updraft, but still, being able to step on air and dust to fly proved she’d broken through another barrier.
Her body floated gracefully through the air, and when she reached the blood-clan assassins who had been targeting her with hidden weapons, she suddenly dove down like a hawk in a steep dive.
Sshhhiiik!
“!”
“!”
She performed an astonishing technique that made her weight feel feather-light one moment, then as heavy as a thousand-pound weight the next.
The assassins were stunned by her incredible new skill.
In a frenzy, they threw their hidden weapons and explosives at her.
Whizz! Whirl!
But Jin So-eun’s heightened spirit no longer feared them.
She struck down at them, swinging her long staff with ease.
And once again, something amazing happened.
Ting! Clack! Ting-ting-ting!
The hidden weapons bounced off her staff helplessly.
Even the explosives didn’t detonate but simply ricocheted away, as if she’d absorbed their force one by one in that brief moment.
The assassins’ faces twisted in shock at her astonishing skill.
Then, Jin So-eun slammed her staff into the ground.
“Haah!”
Kraaaang!
The earth beneath her surged upward, fanning out like a tidal wave toward the assassins.
It was a devastating move from the Jin family’s secret technique, the Eighteen Horseman’s Steps—specifically, the Weak Horse’s Fierce Assault.
“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
Caught in the earth’s wave, the assassins’ bodies were torn apart, their faint groans fading as they died.
Six assassins fell in a single strike.
But Jin So-eun didn’t stop there.
She charged fiercely at the remaining assassins within range, swinging her staff relentlessly.
Whoosh!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The assassins were quickly overwhelmed.
Used to her passive defense moments ago, they couldn’t adapt to her sudden ferocity and fell one by one.
Sshhhiiik!
Hidden weapons flew desperately from all directions.
Kraaaang!
Explosives she deflected exploded on the ground.
Splat!
Her staff shattered a head, sending a spray of red that clouded her vision.
Chaos reigned.
The situation was overwhelming and confusing.
Yet, amid the carnage, Jin So-eun felt a profound calm.
Everything around her came into sharp focus.
Though hidden weapons whizzed and explosives detonated all around, her ears perceived a strange silence.
It was an odd sensation.
She felt as if she could achieve anything she desired.
And indeed, everything she attempted succeeded.
The Weak Horse’s Fierce Assault, which she’d never formally learned, the advanced new techniques she’d never dared try before, even picking off the dense barrage of hidden weapons and explosives one by one—it was all possible.
That’s when she sensed it.
A deadly throwing knife hurtling toward her back at incredible speed.
Without hesitation, she swung her staff behind her, knocking the blade away like a ray of light.
Ting!
Sshhhiiik!
It was so fast that the sound of it reached her ears only afterward.
Jin So-eun stopped chasing the assassins and turned to face whoever had thrown the hidden weapon.
Only then did she realize how threatening it had been.
Two elderly men were slowly approaching her.
They were about ten jang away—quite a distance.
She swallowed hard.
‘From that far?’
The throwing knife had come at such a speed that she barely managed to block it.
And it had been thrown from nearly thirty meters away.
They had to be masters of hidden weapons she’d never seen before.
But the old men seemed just as surprised.
The one who’d thrown the weapon spoke with admiration.
“Impressive. I always thought only a handful could block a direct throw, but to stop one from behind? Remarkable, young lady. Is that the Natural Fist technique?”
Jin So-eun didn’t answer.
Instead, she planted her staff firmly before her, standing as still and natural as a tree.
The man, Gok Mu-ssang, a master of hidden weapons from the Blood Clan’s Third Elder, admired her stance.
He hadn’t expected such a level from a woman barely in her twenties.
“Huh, I doubted Renju’s orders, but he was right to call us.”
He glanced at the other elder, Nu San-tu, a master of poison techniques.
“Third Elder, shall I take this one?”
At his request, Nu San-tu silently stopped in place.
Gok Mu-ssang then addressed Jin So-eun.
“I will approach you in steps of one jang, throwing hidden weapons as I go. I’m very curious how far you can defend.”
Jin So-eun said nothing, her expression calm and focused.
Gok Mu-ssang took a slow step forward, stopping one jang away.
“I’m coming.”
His voice was slow and deliberate.
But his hidden weapons were anything but.
The moment he finished the last syllable, a streak of light shot toward Jin So-eun like lightning.
Ting!
As she deflected the weapon with her staff, Jin So-eun swallowed hard.
She’d barely blocked it—not by sight, but by instinct.
‘That was lucky.’
Her mouth went dry.
It felt as if the weapon had collided with her staff on its own, not because she actively blocked it.
Maybe it was even intentional.
The old man laughed in admiration.
“Ho! You blocked it. Let’s see then.”
He stepped forward another jang.
Jin So-eun’s heart raced.
She wasn’t confident she could block a throw from that close.
But moving closer or retreating was impossible.
If she advanced, she might not handle the weapons; if she fled, one would surely strike her back.
‘What to do?’
As she panicked, the old man took another step.
“I’m coming.”
Again, the moment he finished, his hand swung.
Jin So-eun’s eyes widened.
Ting!
‘What? I blocked it again?!’
“Ho!”
She was stunned.
The weapon once more struck her staff as if on its own.
Judging by his surprised expression, the old man hadn’t intended this either.
It was bizarre.
“Truly impressive.”
Gok Mu-ssang, one of the Blood Clan’s Third Elders, felt his pride wounded.
He’d thought no one could block his throws, yet this young woman did so with ease—and a dazed look on her face.
He took a longer stride this time, closing the distance by six jang.
This time, he intended to finish it.
With a stern expression, Gok Mu-sang looked at Jin So-eun and said,
“This time, there’s no way you’ll be able to stop me.”
Even as he spoke, Gok Mu-sang felt a sudden flush creeping up his face.
He was ashamed of himself for letting his pride get the better of him against such a young girl.
But in truth, there was no need for him to feel embarrassed.
His words weren’t even registering in Jin So-eun’s mind.
As Gok Mu-sang advanced, she was lost in deep thought.
How did I manage to block that?
At first, she thought it was just a coincidence.
But after a moment’s reflection, she realized something was off—too strange to be mere chance.
When she first blocked the hidden strike from behind, and again just moments ago when she stopped two more, Jang Bong seemed to know exactly where the attacks would come from, positioning itself perfectly each time.
The proof was in the fact that the three blocks happened at three different spots.
Did Jang Bong move on its own?
When one reached the level of natural mastery, it could seem as if the staff moved by itself.
But Jin So-eun, who wielded natural mastery firsthand, knew better than anyone that wasn’t true.
Jang Bong moved only through her body and mind.
They were so perfectly in sync that to an outsider, it looked like the staff had a life of its own. But in reality, it could never perform beyond her own skill.
So, the fact that the hidden strikes were blocked meant it was her skill that stopped them.
Even if she hadn’t consciously realized it, she had defended herself through her own ability.
Still, it was strange.
She hadn’t been able to track the trajectory of the hidden strikes with her eyes at all.
I couldn’t see the strikes with my eyes, yet I blocked them? Then…
At that moment, Gok Mu-sang closed the distance to six jang—about eighteen meters—and shouted,
“This is the end!”
Whoosh!
As he swung his arm, Jin So-eun suddenly closed her eyes.
If I couldn’t see it with my eyes, then maybe…
Ping!
The hidden strike bounced off Jang Bong again, and in that instant, a sudden clarity washed over her.
It was the “mind’s eye”! Even though I couldn’t see the strike with my eyes, my mind’s eye was tracking its path!
It was an astonishing experience.
With her eyes closed, her awareness of her surroundings was even sharper than when they were open.
Though she had only been learning the mind’s eye from Sun Woo-jin for four days, the intense, nonstop battles against the warriors of the Water Tribe had pushed her to the limit, elevating her perception to a new level.
She even wondered if Sun Woo-jin had anticipated this and left her alone on purpose.
“W-what?!”
Gok Mu-sang’s voice trembled with surprise.
Jin So-eun, eyes closed, had blocked his attack with the most composed stance she’d shown so far.
His pride was not just wounded—it was turning into a genuine sense of danger.
“Hmm.”
He hesitated to close the distance any further.
The current gap of about six jang was a problem.
If he moved closer, the power of his hidden strikes would increase.
But at the same time, he risked giving her an opening to counterattack.
For a master of the highest caliber, closing the distance by three or four jang was just a blink of an eye.
If his attack failed here, he’d be forced to face her in close combat.
Yet, despite reaching the pinnacle of his art, Gok Mu-sang had trained only in hidden strikes and had no confidence in close quarters.
As he hesitated, someone who had been watching his every move stepped forward.
It was Chak Hwa-seup, the elder of the Blood Wolf Trio and a master of stealth.
Tch, this old man’s really having a bad day.
For the supposed top warrior of the Blood Wolf Alliance’s trio, to be so helpless against a mere child was utterly pathetic.
Chak Hwa-seup decided to take care of her himself.
After all, Gok Mu-sang had shown such weakness—he wouldn’t be angry about losing his prey.
Leaving the shade of the tree where he’d been hiding, Chak Hwa-seup began moving slowly toward Jin So-eun.
His movements were so subtle that no one could detect them—not a single sound or sign.
He prided himself on his stealth, believing it had surpassed even the infamous Amhyulhyang technique.
Jin So-eun would never detect him until the moment she died.
As he thought this and slipped through the shadows, suddenly a sword shot up from below him.
Thud!
“Ugh?!”
Chak Hwa-seup gasped in horror as the blade pierced his chest.
He couldn’t believe someone had hidden from his sight and detected his stealth.
But no matter how much he refused to accept it, nothing changed.
Moments later, his lifeless body lay beneath the tree, as if he had always been there.
For the eldest of the Blood Wolf Trio, it was a pitifully anticlimactic death.
Sun Woo-jin, who had easily killed Chak Hwa-seup in a stealth duel, continued moving silently, thinking,
“No matter how great the stealth, if you’re detected by your opponent, it’s useless.”
Chak Hwa-seup’s stealth was undoubtedly excellent.
But it wasn’t enough to fool Sun Woo-jin’s senses, sharpened by the Moonlight Sword Dance.
And while Chak Hwa-seup’s senses were impressive, they still hadn’t detected Sun Woo-jin’s stealth.
These two facts had decided the outcome in an instant.
At the same time, another person was moving to assist the flustered Gok Mu-sang.
It was Nu San-tu, the third elder of the Blood Wolf Trio, who had stepped back at Gok Mu-sang’s request.
He was a master of poison techniques.
His skill with dragon venom was legendary.
He could shoot poison carried on the wind, and even read the irregular currents of the air to deliver poison exactly where he wanted.
Nu San-tu began moving lightly.
Though he could shoot poison on the wind, he doubted Jin So-eun—who could block Gok Mu-sang’s hidden strikes—would be so easily affected.
The wind’s direction is perfect. I’ll send the poison riding the breeze.
He read the erratic flow of the air around him and found a current heading straight toward Jin So-eun.
Slowly, he approached that spot.
If I kill her with a deadly poison, that old man might get upset. Better to use a milder mountain poison.
Just as he reached into his poison pouch, suddenly—
Tap, tap!
Someone tapped him on the back.
At the same time, his body stiffened completely.
“!”
Nu San-tu was horrified.
He had been struck with a pressure point technique without even realizing it.
Given the level of stealth involved, it had to be Chak Hwa-seup’s doing.
But why target me?
As confusion flooded his mind, his body began to melt into the shadows.
He was being forced into stealth against his will.
And then, he was dragged away into a hidden place.