The Situation Was Clear
The situation was clear.
Emma Goju had no intention of letting the daoist live. Based on experience and logic, the man didn’t seem like any extraordinary expert one should fear to provoke.
Still, he could not ignore the remote one-in-ten-thousand chance. That was why he had pushed Seogwang Gahu forward as a disposable pawn.
If his judgment proved correct, he would have neatly eliminated someone who needed dealing with anyway. If wrong, he could watch how the opponent handled the threat, gauge their strength, and either finish the job himself or flee.
Seogwang Gahu understood this perfectly, which explained his extreme tension.
He had sensed from the start that this daoist-robed figure was no ordinary person. Even without that impression, being ordered to kill a stranger the instant he yielded to blackmail placed an unbearable psychological burden on him.
Yet once a man had already crossed the line by submitting to threats, the next line became far easier to step over.
Even if his submission had been a mere ploy to buy time and seek an opening, the choice between life and death had been handed to him again. There was no escape.
Just as he raised the sword he had been clutching and prepared to point it at the daoist—
Ptui—!
Suddenly, the harmless-looking beast cradled in the daoist’s arms spat something from its mouth.
The instant the golden beam registered, it had already slammed into the ground directly in front of Seogwang Gahu’s feet and vanished. The hole left behind was so deep its bottom could not be seen.
“······.”
“······.”
Silence descended upon the scene.
Seogwang Gahu froze at the sight of the razor-sharp crater. Eun Miryeong’s shock was unmistakable. Most entertaining of all was Emma Goju’s truly bizarre expression.
“Sigh.”
The daoist clicked his tongue with a short sigh.
“Indirect responsibility through the use of force is usually granted leniency. So I’ll overlook it this once. Understand?”
“…Yes?”
“If you don’t want to die, stay quiet.”
Having spoken in a rather crude tone, Han Yujin finally abandoned his stance of passive observation.
The conversation had given him a decent sketch of this world, so he had remained silent. But it was obvious they were treating him like a fool.
“Right, then.”
Han Yujin lifted the beast—Mu-yong—and held her out toward Emma Goju.
“For now, your opponent is this little one. Should be fun, no?”
“…What?”
Emma Goju answered reflexively, his expression still grotesque.
“Beat her and I’ll face you myself. Begin!”
Immediately afterward—
Ptui!
Mu-yong spat out another streak of golden sword qi. Emma Goju reacted instantly to deflect it, but sensing danger, he twisted his body violently to evade instead.
Swish—!
His judgment had been correct. The protective energy wrapped around him was pierced through like paper, leaving a deep hole in the ground behind him.
Emma Goju’s bizarre expression instantly hardened into deadly seriousness. He dodged the next golden beam and immediately counterattacked.
His movement was bizarre, as though his body were splitting into two or three silhouettes at once.
It was the Cloud Ash Yin Flow Step—a footwork art that deceived the opponent’s senses while granting nearly unrestricted changes in direction. From the hand thrust forward in tandem, a dark gray energy shot forth at terrifying speed.
Accompanied by a sound like a swarm of buzzing insects, a gray palm shadow surged forward. This was the infamous Ash Gu Heavenly Evil Palm. A single solid hit would inflict endless erosion by worm-like gray energy.
“Jjik!”
“Sigh…”
After the urgent cry and sigh came a burst of golden radiance from the daoist. It brushed aside Emma Goju’s palm technique with laughable ease. The signature erosive effect of the Ash Gu Heavenly Evil Palm failed to manifest at all.
Yet from behind the palm shadow, Emma Goju charged in with a demonic face, clearly exerting full power. In a single breath he unleashed multiple lethal strikes.
Bam bam bam—!
He moved so quickly that the floor beneath his feet shattered. Dark gray energy swirled like multiple clones attacking in concert; enormous palm shadows hammered the golden radiance from every angle.
Some struck with raw power, others used penetrating energy to dismantle the unknown radiance, and the rest attempted to project force directly inside the barrier through internal striking techniques.
Gooooong…!
Every single attempt was completely blocked, producing only a strange low resonance.
“B-body-protecting gang qi…?!”
Among the two who had retreated in panic to save their lives, the woman—Eun Miryeong—muttered in utter shock.
By the common sense of the murim, Han Yujin’s barrier could only be interpreted that way.
Moreover, to receive every attack from a Transcendental Peak expert while standing still using nothing but body-protecting gang qi, the Harmonious Realm was simply not enough!
At that moment, Emma Goju—his figure still strangely overlapping and shimmering—hastily retreated to his original spot, withdrew his energy, lowered his head, and offered a respectful fist salute.
“This small one was blind and failed to recognize a senior who has reached the Profound Realm. For the face of our Dark Shadow Divine Cult, please show mercy as vast as the sea and forgive me.”
“Mm, sure, sure. Block this and I’ll spare you.”
Han Yujin answered casually and extended his hand, casting a spell directly.
A series of energies gathered like flowing water, forming a wheel shape before shooting forward at terrifying speed.
Water Wheel Technique
Emma Goju had genuinely intended to block it. He believed a Profound Realm expert of the Half-Aged Return to Youth level with such strength would not go back on his word.
Yet the moment he felt the water wheel’s momentum, his body moved instinctively. He barely dodged. The wheel struck empty ground.
KWAAAAANG—!!
A terrifying roar erupted. Clods of earth flew in every direction. The entire hermitage shook, dust cascaded from the rooftops, and sections of the already crumbling walls collapsed.
Where the attack landed, a large, dark crater had formed. Its width was moderate, but its depth was so extreme that anyone who fell in would never climb out under their own power.
Emma Goju, who had reflexively dodged, turned deathly pale for all to see.
“What are you doing? I told you to block it.”
“With this small one’s skill, it is impossible to block such a gang qi technique.”
“Then endure until I’m satisfied. I’ll lower the power somewhat. Survive everything and I’ll truly spare you.”
Finishing his words, Han Yujin exhaled lightly.
From that breath, faint greenish dharma patterns sparkled before transforming into a fierce gale that swept over his opponent.
Wind Blade Technique
The greatly alarmed Emma Goju poured out every ounce of his internal energy, displaying every evasion and defense he possessed.
His body emitted a strange shimmering as he moved at high speed. Even Han Yujin, a Foundation Establishment practitioner, felt he might become momentarily confused without using divine sense.
In that state, Emma Goju dodged more than half the wind blades. The rest he somehow deflected with the gray energy wrapped around his body, while those he could not avoid he struck away with hands where the gray energy was thickest.
It was not mere brute force. He used the principles of ‘borrowing force to redirect’ to subtly alter trajectories and cancel blades against one another—an absolutely admirable display of skill.
Emma Goju survived without a single mistake until every ounce of the wind blade technique’s power had been neutralized.
Although the power had been deliberately lowered to an ordinary Initiation Stage level, it was still astonishing. Han Yujin nearly clapped in reflexive admiration.
He had even forgotten his original purpose of gauging this world’s martial strength through the insolent fool who had dared try to kill him.
“Three more remain.”
Conveying his admiration, he announced the remaining count and unfolded the fire bullet technique.
Fire Bullet Technique
A tiny spark flickered at the tip of his flicked finger, instantly swelled to the size of a human head, and shot forward.
The sudden heat-laden gale made both Seogwang Gahu and Eun Miryeong flinch and raise their arms to shield their faces.
Emma Goju, terrified by the succession of heaven-shaking techniques, still did his absolute best to counter the incoming scorching yang energy.
He fired gray palm shadows repeatedly with the Ash Gu Heavenly Evil Palm while executing the life-saving form of the Cloud Ash Yin Flow Step, creating the greatest distance he had managed yet.
KWAAAAANG—!!
An explosion far larger than the previous water wheel erupted.
It was as if a small earthquake had struck. The buildings shook violently, shedding more than dust. Another section of the fragile wall collapsed for good measure.
The air, briefly clouded by falling dirt, was swept far away by the heat-mixed gale.
The revealed crater radiated a hellish heat that made the very air seem to boil. No one could approach.
“Two left.”
“V-Venerable One, please show mercy…!”
Watching the terrified Emma Goju, a purple light suddenly flashed in Han Yujin’s eyes. Emma Goju, who had been watching for any sign to beg for forgiveness, also caught that flash.
Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art
“Khak…!”
He let out a short, agonized scream and staggered backward. Blood poured from his nose.
Yet Han Yujin, the one who had cast the technique, wore a deeply surprised expression.
Even though I only used the Initiation Stage version, he blocked it?
The ‘murim people’ of this world had not followed the clearly flawed growth path of the knights from the Astradia world.
They were even overwhelmingly superior when compared to Earth’s hunters.
In Han Yujin’s assessment, Emma Goju’s power class seemed lower than that of Korea’s S-class hunter Park Seryong. Yet when technical skill was considered, it would take at least three Park Seryongs to match him.
The mere fact that he had defended against the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art proved he was clearly superior in the spiritual aspect.
“This is the last one. Focus.”
Having kindly given a warning, Han Yujin pointed a finger at Emma Goju.
Immediately afterward—
CRACKLE—BOOOOM—!!
A bolt of lightning fell from a clear sky. The attack was nearly instantaneous; there was no time to dodge.
“Grgh… ughhh…!”
Struck by the lightning, Emma Goju convulsed. His entire body was charred black and smoke poured from his mouth.
“You survived even that!”
This time Han Yujin was so impressed he could not hold back a shout.
Thud—
Emma Goju fell backward like a wooden log, eyes filled with resentment.
Han Yujin examined him with divine sense. Soon the man’s breath cut off helplessly.
“Aigo… that really was the last one!”
It had been so impressive that he had genuinely considered sparing the man. Now that he was dead, there was no longer any reason to hesitate.
“Jjik! Jjijik—!”
“Yeah, yeah. I took care of the bad villain instead of the raccoon man, so relax.”
Stroking Mu-yong once, Han Yujin turned to the two young people who could barely breathe.
“Now, then…”
Before he could continue—
“V-Venerable One, please forgive me…!!”
Seogwang Gahu prostrated himself completely, voice trembling with terror.
“Didn’t I already say it? Indirect responsibility through force is usually granted leniency. However… it was rather annoying.”
In the following silence, Seogwang Gahu’s trembling intensified.
“Hand over that ledger or whatever it is, along with the yin-yang gu you received.”
“H-here… here it is…!”
Seogwang Gahu frantically pulled a piece of silk from his robes. Together with the wooden box containing the yin-yang gu, he crawled forward on his knees and offered them.
“You hand yours over as well. You weren’t planning to consume it and run off to the Dark Shadow Divine Cult, were you?”
“N-no, of course not.”
Eun Miryeong approached with extreme tension and offered her wooden box with the utmost respect.
“I am truly grateful for the Venerable One’s assistance. I will never forget this life-saving grace until the day I die. Should the opportunity arise, I will repay it with every ounce of my strength.”
“Mm.”
Even while her body trembled faintly, her clear and precise speech was pleasant to the ear.
She really is a beauty.
Of course, that impression owed much to Eun Miryeong’s genuinely exceptional appearance. Even with his modern standards, Han Yujin had to acknowledge her beauty.
“If it is not too forward, may this one ask the Venerable One’s honorable name?”
“I’ll tell you after I decide. First… where were you two originally headed?”
After a brief hesitation, Eun Miryeong answered in place of the shaken Seogwang Gahu.
“We planned to cross the Yangtze River a short distance west of here and head into Gangseo Province. That region belongs to the Supreme Sun Sect, a place where the Dark Shadow Demon Cult pursuing us would not dare set foot.”
She had called it the Dark Shadow Demon Cult, not Divine Cult. The Supreme Sun Sect also appeared to be an exceedingly powerful organization.
“Travel with me for a while. I have many questions.”
“We would be honored beyond words.”
“We can rest slowly as we travel. For now, soothe him a little.”
Han Yujin gestured with his chin toward the still-prostrated, trembling Seogwang Gahu. Eun Miryeong looked slightly troubled but immediately moved toward him.
Han Yujin’s greatest interest, naturally, lay in the strength levels of this world’s murim practitioners.
To summarize Eun Miryeong’s explanation, the hierarchy was roughly as above.
Han Yujin suddenly felt a flicker of suspicion.
That last one… could it be the Divine Sense technique?