Chapter 248

While Sun Woo-jin was busy defeating Chak Hwa-seup, the eldest of the Blood Brotherhood’s Three Elders, in a stealth battle—and even dragging Nu San-tu-ma, the third elder, away—Jin So-eun remained completely unaware of all this. Her entire focus was fixed solely on Gok Mu-ssang, who stood just six jang away from her.

Though her “mind’s eye” had grown remarkably sharp in a short time, it still wasn’t enough to detect the stealth techniques of Chak Hwa-seup or Sun Woo-jin.

So, she concentrated fully on her current opponent, waiting patiently for him to make the next move.

Right now, she felt as if she could easily block any hidden attack, even if it came from much closer range.

“My body and mind feel so light and clear. Even with my eyes closed, everything is vivid and sharp. How is this possible? Has Master Sun Woo always lived in a world like this?”

That thought sparked a surge of determination within her.

She no longer cared about exhaustion; instead, a fierce desire to test her limits against the opponent before her burned inside.

“Come on. I’ll block everything. I can do this!”

Jin So-eun focused every fiber of her being, capturing every subtle movement of her opponent in her mind like the tip of a blade.

But then, something unexpected happened.

For some reason, Gok Mu-ssang didn’t advance any closer.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t he coming forward?”

She felt a flicker of confusion but quickly dismissed it.

“If he won’t come, then I’ll go to him.”

With that resolve, she took a step forward.

Instantly, Gok Mu-ssang flinched and hastily retreated the same distance she had advanced.

Only then did Jin So-eun realize why he hadn’t approached.

“He’s afraid. Afraid of me getting close.”

And she immediately guessed the reason.

“This distance must be his safety zone—the range from which he can throw hidden attacks without fear of counterattack. He’s not confident in close combat.”

That realization led to another insight.

“If I can just block this next hidden attack…”

If his safety zone was this far, then stopping this attack would mean something entirely different.

This would be the last hidden attack he could throw.

If she could block it, this fight might end in her victory.

Jin So-eun exhaled deeply.

“Hoooh!”

Her focus sharpened to a razor’s edge.

Slowly, she began to close the distance toward her opponent.

Ssshhhk!

Gok Mu-ssang, startled by her approach, gritted his teeth.

He was one of the strongest assassins in the Blood Brotherhood, the best of the best.

And yet, here he was, retreating from a mere girl.

The humiliation was unbearable.

“How dare she!”

He ground his teeth fiercely.

He hadn’t honed his hidden attack skills to be mocked by some child.

He prided himself on his hidden attacks being superior even to Am Hyeol-hyang, the world’s top assassin.

So, if he focused properly, there was no way such a girl could be a match for him.

No longer dismissing Jin So-eun as a novice, Gok Mu-ssang concentrated all his mental energy, targeting her like a lifelong rival.

He coiled like a venomous snake, ready to strike with his final blow.

“Come closer if you dare!”

At that moment, Jin So-eun hesitated.

She sensed his aura shift instantly.

“His energy’s sharpened.”

The careless attitude from moments ago was gone.

Now, he was like a scorpion ready to sting, his presence prickling her skin.

Instinctively, she realized he neither underestimated her nor feared her anymore.

“This is the real deal.”

Swallowing hard, Jin So-eun stopped moving forward and waited.

If she rushed or showed any weakness, his hidden attack would pierce her in an instant.

It felt like her whole body was tangled in vines, unable to move.

She stood stone-still, holding her wooden staff out in front.

Meanwhile, Gok Mu-ssang, also frozen, waited for her move.

The distance between them was now between five and six jang.

This would be his last chance to throw a hidden attack.

He had to hit.

But so far, no opening appeared.

He seemed to understand that moving first would reveal a weakness.

Gok Mu-ssang admired her silently.

“She’s no pushover. Even at such a young age, her senses are incredible.”

Fully acknowledging her as a worthy opponent, he decided to wait for her to make the first move.

After all, patience was a killer’s greatest skill.

Their duel had become a battle of endurance.

---

“Caw! Caw! Caw!”

A crow cawed loudly as it flew over their heads.

A rabbit paused briefly between them, then startled, darted into the bushes.

But neither combatant moved an inch, their nerves razor-sharp, locked on each other like blades.

Time passed.

Sweat soaked their faces.

Though they appeared steady, both were far more exhausted than they looked.

Maintaining such intense focus demanded tremendous physical and mental stamina.

But their conditions weren’t equal.

Jin So-eun suddenly thought, “I might just pass out.”

Both were struggling, but she felt she was more likely to falter first.

She’d been ignoring it in her heightened state, but her energy had already been drained before this fight.

Besides, her opponent was a seasoned assassin.

He was undoubtedly more accustomed to these endurance battles.

The conclusion was clear.

At this rate, she would lose.

Swallowing hard, she pondered.

“What should I do?”

She couldn’t maintain this standoff.

If she exhausted herself completely, she wouldn’t even get a chance to try anything.

The answer was obvious.

It was time to take a risk.

“But… how?”

Taking a gamble was certain.

But she couldn’t just recklessly close the distance.

Charging in blindly would be suicide.

If she was going to approach, she had to create an opening first.

“Create an opening… but how?”

No matter how she thought, no good ideas came.

Her opponent could attack from a distance, but she wielded only a staff.

To do anything, she had to get close.

It was a tough spot.

Biting her lip, she thought, “What can I do? I can’t just throw my only staff away…”

As a creeping sense of despair rose, a sudden thought flashed through her mind.

Something she never would have considered before.

She swallowed hard.

“But that’s crazy, right? Still, I can’t just stand here…”

After a moment’s hesitation, she made her decision.

Now was not the time to debate.

If she didn’t want to die without trying, she had to focus all her energy on the one option left.

“Hoooh.”

Jin So-eun exhaled deeply.

Her aura grew fiercer.

Gok Mu-ssang immediately sensed the change.

Looks like she’s the one who’s about to break first.

“Of course.”

He smiled inwardly, confident.

He knew better than anyone that whoever moved first in this situation would lose.

No matter how talented, experience couldn’t be faked.

Then, suddenly, Jin So-eun moved.

Swoosh!

“?!”

Gok Mu-ssang was shocked.

Her attack came in a way he hadn’t expected.

Her staff shot forward like a beam of light.

She had thrown the staff she’d been holding straight at him.

“Such a foolish move?!”

He barely twisted his upper body to dodge the flying staff aimed at his head.

Whoosh!

The staff whizzed past, scattering broken strands of hair into the air.

Even to a master of hidden attacks like him, the speed was threatening.

But that was all.

Gok Mu-ssang was certain the fight was over.

Dropping his strongest weapon mid-battle was a foolish mistake.

“It’s over now!”

His eyes locked onto Jin So-eun.

She was rushing toward him, now unarmed.

The distance between them was three jang.

“Hup!”

He fired a hidden attack.

At this range, there was no way she could block it without her staff.

But then, Jin So-eun’s movement shifted again.

Swish!

“!”

Gok Mu-ssang’s eyes wavered.

Her form suddenly split into three.

A triple illusion.

Having mastered this technique, Jin So-eun’s image divided instantly into three.

For a moment, Gok Mu-ssang couldn’t be sure of her true position and hesitated.

Now, the distance between them was just one jang.

But further deception wouldn’t work anymore.

Gok Mu-ssang was a master of memorization—and his techniques went beyond anything imaginable.

At last, when the distance between them stretched to about a meter, his eyes locked onto Jin So-eun’s true form.

“Got you!”

Without hesitation, he launched his strike.

Shhhk!

Jin So-eun saw him throw the move straight at her, his gaze unwavering.

They were still nearly a meter apart.

A beam of light, faster than sound, reached just in front of her forehead in an instant.

Then came the sound.

Crack!

Something had shattered.

Her legs gave out, and Jin So-eun collapsed heavily to the ground.

“Haah! Haah! Haah!”

No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t move anymore.

If he threw another strike, she’d have no choice but to take it.

“Haah, haah, haah!”

She couldn’t even catch her breath.

Her whole body felt like it was melting into liquid, stuck to the earth beneath her.

Lying flat on the ground for a moment, Jin So-eun suddenly turned her head to the side.

There, she saw Gok Mu-ssang’s body slowly crumpling, his head shattered.

Thud!

She exhaled sharply, staring blankly at his fallen form.

It still didn’t feel real.

But after a long moment of seeing him unmoving, she finally found her voice.

“He really… won.”

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

“Ha, haha, hahahaha.”

Suddenly, the memory of that final moment flashed through her mind.

The instant when his strike nearly pierced her head.

In that life-or-death moment, she’d managed to barely brush his attack with her index finger.

That slight contact had saved her life.

Because the strike’s trajectory had shifted just enough to graze the side of her forehead instead of the center.

Her temple was sliced sharply, blood still trickling down, but it was a minor wound compared to what could have been.

Especially compared to her opponent, whose head had exploded from the triple-ring strike.

Jin So-eun chuckled quietly to herself.

“Heh heh heh… so it really works?”

At that critical moment, she’d abandoned the club and used her fingers instead—a technique she’d learned recently from Sunwoo Jin.

When she first learned from him, she’d easily mastered using the club with the triple-ring strike, but letting go of the club to fight barehanded was something she just couldn’t get used to.

It felt too unnatural to drop the club from her hand.

Then Sunwoo Jin had asked her unexpectedly,

“High-level swordmasters’ sword techniques can be as threatening as real swords. What about you? Can your hands replace the club?”

Hearing that, Jin So-eun had felt as if she’d been struck in the head—dazed and stunned.

She’d never once thought her hands could substitute for the club.

But soon she realized it was just a fixed mindset holding her back.

She could perform natural staff techniques regardless of the staff’s length.

So for her, it made no difference whether it was fingers or forearms.

Once she grasped that, she succeeded in using her hands and fingers as an extension of her staff techniques, effectively mastering barehanded combat.

That had been just two days ago…

‘And that realization decided the match? Incredible.’

Jin So-eun laughed again, a little bitterly.

If it had been just two days earlier, she never would have beaten him.

The outcome hinged on those two days—it was almost unbelievable.

‘Is this what they call fate?’

Thinking that gave her a strange surge of strength.

It felt like she’d been chosen by destiny.

Then another thought crossed her mind.

‘Fate? Sunwoo Gongja?’

For some reason, the word ‘fate’ brought his face to mind.

And that thought made perfect sense.

‘Come to think of it, the third eye, the triple-ring step, the triple-ring strike—all thanks to Sunwoo Gongja.’

That was true.

Aside from the natural staff technique, everything she’d used in this fight came from what she’d learned from Sunwoo Jin.

She even wondered if she’d learned more from him than from her grandfather, Jin Samong.

‘…’

As she pondered, she found the situation she was in now strangely ironic.

Why had Sunwoo Gongja disappeared from her side when things got dangerous, only to help her when it mattered?

The answer came quickly.

What she’d gained from this fight was the answer.

‘I mastered the third eye, perfected the triple-ring step, harmonized the staff and barehanded techniques… and I beat an ultra-elite master? What is this?’

Looking back, it was absurd.

Not long ago, she’d struggled just to survive against top-tier masters.

Jin So-eun suddenly sat up straight.

She felt embarrassed lying there as if she’d accomplished nothing.

Glancing around, she saw the assassins who had fled earlier cautiously approaching her again.

“Phew!”

She let out a deep breath and stood up.

Her whole body screamed in protest, but she refused to die to those scum.

She owed it to Sunwoo Jin, who had brought her this far.

Realizing her hands were empty, she looked toward her wooden staff, lodged deep in a tree some distance away.

She’d need to retrieve it to fight properly.

But after a moment’s hesitation, she turned away and started walking toward the assassins empty-handed.

Somehow, she felt she didn’t need it anymore.

She stretched her aching body and muttered,

“Alright, let’s start again.”

It was time to fight once more.

But this time, it wouldn’t take as long, nor would it be as hard.

Confidence and calm surged within her.