How to Attract the Attention of the Flower on the Thousand-Li Cliff

"Huh? What is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Over there by the water's surface... something's moving..."

"Moving? It's probably just a bird."

"No, really, something... Uwaaah?!"

The pirate at the bow, who had been staring intently ahead, let out a scream with eyes wide in horror. The pirate next to him scowled.

"Argh, you scared the shit out of me. Why the hell are you yelling like that?"

"Th-th-there...! A p-p-person...!"

"What bullshit... Huh? H-Holy shiiiiit?!"

The other pirate's eyes bulged in shock too.

Because he had seen it.

The silhouette of a woman rapidly approaching, churning the waves.

Po Dong-young, one of the Eight Leaders of the Sea Serpent Gang.

A brutal man who wouldn't blink at most things.

Even he stood frozen, mouth agape, eyes wide in astonishment.

Because he had clearly witnessed Yu Seol-young's figure.

He rubbed his eyes, wondering if it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a hallucination, checked again and again—but the woman's form only drew closer.

This is real! Real!

"F-Fuck!"

The curse burst out naturally.

He knew little of the masters who danced through the distant heavens.

No reason he should.

It was a world apart from his.

A mid-tier regional faction couldn't compare to the great righteous sects. All he did was scrap for territory after crawling out of his little pond. No way he'd know the skies above.

But even he realized it clearly.

That Yu Seol-young was a master beyond imagination, high in those heavens.

She was skimming across the sea like flat land. How could he not know what that meant?

And he realized something else too.

Let that woman board the ship, and they were all dead.

"F-Faster! Full speed! Ram her! We have to ram her!"

Po Dong-young bellowed desperately.

In a fight of flesh and blood, they wouldn't stand a chance.

But they had this.

The massive warship.

Even a supreme master was still human flesh and blood. Crush her with sheer mass and volume...

There might be a chance. No, it was their only chance.

"Uwaaaah, faster!"

"Smash her into mincemeat! Mincemeat!"

His subordinates, realizing it was their sole shot at survival, howled as they poured on the power.

The ship accelerated.

And then.

It barreled straight toward Yu Seol-young's approaching figure.

"Th-that...!"

"D-Danger!"

"D-Dodge!"

The people, frozen in shock, snapped to their senses and cried out in alarm.

The ship charging ferociously.

Even the common folk knew a great martial artist when they saw one.

Flying through the skies, shattering boulders—no, racing across the sea like solid ground, just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like the rumors said.

But still human.

Ship versus human? In their minds, only one outcome: the human dies.

However.

Yu Seol-young remained utterly calm.

"Annoying."

Her gaze fixed on the prow.

A massive, sharp ram like an ox's horn.

Anything mid-sized would shatter on impact.

No, before that.

The ram was clearly aimed at Yu Seol-young.

Intending to pulp her in one go.

Whoosh.

Thud.

Yu Seol-young, still racing forward, reversed her grip on the sword.

Blade down, back up.

A stance ready to strike.

Bang So-un's eyes gleamed at the natural pose for any swordmaster.

"Uwah, what the hell is she doing?! Y-Young master! We're fucked at this rate, aren't we?!"

Jang Il fidgeted and yelled.

He knew if Yu Seol-young went down, they were next.

But Bang So-un's expression had regained its composure.

"No, looks like she's about to slash it."

"S-Slash? That thing?"

Jang Il blinked with anxious eyes.

But then.

Yu Seol-young's sword finally moved.

The blade traced a line through the air.

Clean, fluid perfection.

A strike precise and pure, without a shred of waste—like straight from a manual.

Perfect.

Not coincidence that Bang So-un and Jang Il thought the same word simultaneously.

However.

What lay before that slash wasn't a straw dummy.

It was the ram of a massive warship.

An absurd clash.

But the result...

Spluuurt!

The crisp sound of something being neatly severed.

And then.

The vertically bisected ram plummeted into the sea.

BOOM!

A thunderous crash matching its weight.

The sound jolted the stunned onlookers back to reality.

"H-Huh?!"

"Sh-She... she sliced it?! Th-That thing?!"

"D-Dream... gotta be a dream?!"

Even Jang Il bellowed with his bear-like shocked face.

"Sh-She really slashed it! Really did!"

"Kinda figured she would."

Bang So-un wasn't greatly fazed.

From the moment she'd unleashed that Deng Ping Do Su, he'd branded her not human, but monster, in his mind.

You don't apply human logic to monsters.

The problem was.

This monster was a peerless beauty—and the urge to tame and claim her only grew stronger.

Truly a flower atop a thousand-ri cliff.

As Bang So-un thought that.

Yu Seol-young kicked off the halved ram and soared upward.

Onto the leader ship's deck.

'These pirate scum really picked the wrong opponent today.'

Bang So-un let out a satisfied sneer.

Po Dong-young, Swift Eel among the Sea Serpent Gang's Eight Leaders.

True to his nimble carp moniker, he feared no master in the water.

No, he'd be thrilled at such prime prey.

But this wasn't water.

His legs trembled.

In the end, Po Dong-young's choice was.

To leap straight into the sea.

'In the water, even that bitch can't touch me!'

"Hahaha, come get me if you dare, you whore!"

Even in total ruin, Po Dong-young forced a cocky laugh.

Why? Fleeing in terror would be too humiliating.

Not just for him—the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whole Sea Serpent Gang's disgrace.

Better to look dignified before a supreme master, holding your ground to the last before inevitably retreating.

That way, you'd have some excuse.

"Gonna follow you, though?"

Yu Seol-young shot toward the plummeting Po Dong-young with those curt words.

For a split second, Po Dong-young thought she'd lost her mind.

'Relying on Deng Ping Do Su? Think you can use it underwater?'

His moniker was carp for a reason—diving was his specialty.

He could hold his breath forever.

Hide, wait for an opening, grab a leg, drag her down?

Done! He'd finish her!

Excitement surged through his veins.

His heart pounded wildly.

'Catch a supreme master! Me, catching one!'

The vision filled his head.

His status skyrocketing from that feat.

From sixth leader... maybe even to fifth.

Those smug superiors with rods up their asses could never pull it off.

Lost in that dream as he prepped to dive.

...But.

"Wh-What?!"

His eyes widened in absurdity.

Wait, what?! Why the hell was that bitch falling faster than him?!

Yu Seol-young, dropping late, whipped past him in the air.

Po Dong-young's frantic gaze shot downward.

There.

Yu Seol-young had already landed on the sea, waiting leisurely for his fall.

Sword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠raised.

"W-Wait! N-Nooooo!"

"Cervical vertebrae."

Splat!

Crack!

"Kweeeeeek!"

A piggish, hideous screech tore through the sea, matching his flabby build.

The mid-sized junk bound for Haenam Island.

It had anchored at an unplanned deserted isle midway.

"I-Is this really okay?"

The captain spoke with hesitant eyes.

"Of course. And stop fretting. You lot have nothing to do with this anyway."

Only after Yu Seol-young's casual reply did the captain seem fully resolved. He turned to his crew.

"Alright, men. Get unloading."

Soon the sailors grunted, hauling something down.

Cargo? Yes, but no ordinary cargo.

Humans.

Precisely, Sea Serpent Gang pirates.

"Just toss 'em roughly."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

At Yu Seol-young's words, the sailors dumped the worthless cargo onto the dirt like trash.

"Urgh..."

"Groan..."

But the pirates offered no resistance, only incomprehensible moans.

All their cervical vertebrae shattered, leaving them amiably paralyzed from the neck down. No fight left in them.

Plus, barely hydrated and starved for days—they were half-dead already.

"Sign."

Yu Seol-young extended a hand; a sailor handed her the prepared wooden placard.

Thud.

She drove it unhesitatingly into the dirt amid the pirates.

"This is definitely Sea Serpent Gang territory, right?"

"Y-Yes."

The captain's reply.

"Good. Brush."

This time, a sailor passed her an ink-dipped brush.

She wielded it across the sign.

Bold, unyielding strokes matching her nature.

'Phoenix for phoenix, alright.'

Bang So-un admired inwardly.

Yu Seol-young belonged to the enigmatic Geomgak.

So invoking Geomgak's name was fair game—no one could complain.

And it'd terrify the Sea Serpent Gang even more.

Yet she wrote her personal moniker and name.

Meaning she'd shoulder this alone.

'Not just that, though.'

Many were involved.

Captain, crew, innocent commoners.

He hadn't meddled much, but "shrimp backs break in whale fights"—they could draw the gang's ire needlessly.

Knowing that, Yu Seol-young provocatively narrowed the grudge to herself alone with that sign.

Bang So-un was certain.

And he acted.

A proud man ruling countless female masters like livestock couldn't sit idle.

"Done writing?"

"What?"

Yu Seol-young tilted her head.

"Got something to add myself."

"Hm."

She handed him the brush.

Bang So-un approached the sign and, without hesitation, added a line below her name.

In that instant.

A faint gleam flickered in Yu Seol-young's eyes.