Chapter 26 :

Second-Rate Warrior Who Dominates the Exam (1)

The Taeul Sect was noisy from morning because of the visit of unfamiliar people.

Dozens of people dressed in identical outfits cleaned inside the Taeul Sect grounds and prepared meals.

The smell of a whole large pig being boiled woke the children on its own, and even the outside disciples who had entered the sect with heavy hearts found their worries erased before they knew it as they searched for the source of the fragrant meat scent that pierced their noses.

“What on earth is this?”

At my muttering, Wang Soso, who stood beside me, smiled cutely and said,

“These are things Father prepared, saying that on exam day, one must eat heartily.”

“The estate lord did?”

“Yes.”

“I feel like this is too much of a burden on him.”

“He said he would slaughter a cow, hold a feast, and entertain the Seeing Nature Envoys in the name of the Taeul Sect, so I had a very hard time stopping him.”

“…Please tell him I am grateful.”

“Father said you should visit the Wang Family Estate sometime. He said he wants to personally treat you to a meal.”

“I will visit soon.”

All the people of the Taeul Sect gathered in the dining hall.

Before each of them was a simple but hearty meat soup, and the children already seemed unable to endure it, swallowing their saliva as they looked at the sect leader.

“Let us eat with gratitude toward the estate lord, who prepared such a wonderful meal for us.”

“““Thank you.”””

No sooner had the sect leader’s words ended than the children all shouted at once, and Wang Soso merely smiled faintly and nodded.

The children waited for a moment, but when Wang Soso did not show any swaggering behavior like Gye Cheolyeong, they did not know what to do.

Originally, it was normal for them to listen to Gye Cheolyeong brag for quite a while.

“Is everyone not eating?”

At Wang Soso’s words, everyone hesitated, then soon began lifting their spoons.

The atmosphere in the dining hall flowed more harmoniously than ever before.

After finishing the meal and while everyone was preparing for the exam, the people of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild entered.

There was Gye Yeonseok, Gye Cheolyeong, and three distinctive people I was seeing for the first time.

One scholarly-looking man, one warrior-like woman, and a middle-aged man between them who exuded a strange atmosphere.

Their composition looked just like that of the Seeing Nature Envoys.

“Hmph! I suppose you ate some cheap meat soup, judging by how the fishy stench is vibrating through the hall.”

When Gye Yeonseok spoke while pinching his nose, Wang Soso tilted her head.

“That cannot be. Father specifically had a Green Blue Pig, a specialty of Zhejiang Province, prepared, so it should not have had a fishy taste.”

A Green Blue Pig referred to a pig raised on Anji white tea and bamboo-salt clear wine from Zhejiang Province.

No wonder the broth had been so rich without any fishy taste at all.

“…”

In the end, Gye Yeonseok, who could not say anything to Wang Soso, turned his sparks toward me.

“Can meat soup go down your throat before such an important exam?”

“Compared to eating several cheap pigs, eating soup made from an expensive pig is much easier on the stomach and quite nice.”

I had pointed out that whenever Gye Yeonseok held a feast, he always bought a lot of pigs that had given birth repeatedly and were about to die.

“But will you be all right? Cheolyeong may fail the exam, so at times like this, should you not go to a temple and offer prayers?”

“Hmph! It seems you have not heard the rumor yet.”

“Rumor?”

“The one standing in the middle of those three over there is the famous One-Drag Instructor, Teacher Jang Sagun.”

At Gye Yeonseok’s gesture, the gazes of the children nearby also turned toward Jang Sagun’s group.

“That man has never once had a student fail the special admission. No matter what tricks you pull, in the end, the Taeul Sect will merely be a bridesmaid for our Cheolyeong.”

Hearing Gye Yeonseok’s words, the children already lowered their heads one by one, looking dispirited.

“Seeing you speak like this, it seems you truly intend to cut ties with the Taeul Sect.”

“Hmph! There is no need to associate any longer with those who abandon a relationship over a bowl of meat soup.”

I slowly scattered killing intent at his words.

“Think carefully. Though it may be in name only, Senior Brother Cheolyeong entered as an outer disciple. If he tries to leave as he pleases, he must naturally pay the price.”

Exposed to my killing intent, Gye Yeonseok’s face turned pale.

At that moment, the One-Drag Instructor, Jang Sagun, stepped forward.

“Ho ho, someone who has learned martial arts threatening an ordinary person. You truly show how poorly you were taught. Is that the teaching of the Taeul Sect?”

I spoke without backing down.

“A gentleman exchanges what he has learned for money to make a living, so I suppose he should be called not a gentleman, but a merchant.”

Jang Sagun’s face twitched.

However, he soon recovered his expression and continued.

“Even Confucius accepted tuition so that he could have grain to eat when teaching his disciples.”

“I hear Senior One-Drag Instructor receives a mansion as tuition.”

Jang Sagun’s face flushed bright red.

As great as his reputation was, hiring him cost an enormous amount of money.

Even if it was a transaction carried out under tacit acceptance because supply and demand matched properly, for Jang Sagun, who pretended to be a gentleman, it was nothing to be proud of.

“Your tongue is extremely wicked, boy. Whether your skill is the same will be known by the results.”

At that moment, Kang Chaeseok shouted thunderously through the hall.

“Enough chatter! Everyone gather! The Seeing Nature Envoys have arrived.”

The sect leader, the elders, and the hall masters of each hall had already all gathered.

As the children gathered in one place, a small attendant group slowly entered.

“It is the Murim Alliance.”

At someone’s shout, everyone’s heads turned toward the front of the attendant group.

The person standing at the very front held the Murim Alliance flag, clearly showing that they were envoys of the Murim Alliance.

“I am Lee Jagon, a Seeing Nature Envoy of the Murim Alliance. I offer my greetings.”

“We offer our greetings.”

When the man who introduced himself as Lee Jagon greeted Hong Mungi, the sect leader, the envoys who had come with him all greeted him at once.

Excluding the escorts, the number of envoys was eleven in total.

Aside from Lee Jagon, there were five scholarly-looking people and five warrior-looking people.

“You have worked hard coming such a long way. I hope you will select an excellent talent this time as well.”

“Selecting talent from the One Hundred Eight Peaks is a matter of great importance to the Murim Alliance as well. We will do our utmost to ensure there are no problems with the exam.”

The ten envoys divided up at once and began preparing the exam.

The scholars took off the wooden packs they had carried on their backs, removed densely written exam papers from inside, and began stacking them on the table.

The junior brothers and sisters, who were taking an exam for the first time in their lives, already had poor complexions.

Gye Cheolyeong looked at something like a palm-sized book bound with small pieces of paper, then smirked and said,

“Are you afraid of the exam?”

“…Are you not afraid, Senior Brother?”

“You are afraid because you did not prepare properly. If you had prepared properly like me, you would not be afraid.”

Gye Cheolyeong’s conversation partner was Dongryong, the youngest of the three brothers Geumpyo, Eunho, and Dongryong.

“If you really have no idea, shall I point out a few questions for you?”

“…”

Dongryong looked furious at Gye Cheolyeong, and Geumpyo and Eunho, who had been listening to the conversation with him, quickly led Dongryong away.

While the scholars prepared the first exam, the warriors were meeting and speaking with the hall masters.

“Will this time also only test basic sword arts and basic heart methods?”

At Kang Chaeseok’s question, the female warrior nodded.

“The martial arts exam for the One Hundred Eight Peaks is always the same.”

“It examines the depth and application of basic martial arts.”

“They will learn other martial arts at the Martial Academy, but in any case, it is ultimately about seeing how firmly their roots have been built.”

“Understood. Regarding the basic martial arts and basic heart methods, we hall masters will tell you what you should look at.”

At Kang Chaeseok’s words, the female warrior shook her head.

“We have already learned all about the Taeul Sect’s martial arts from the materials in the Murim Alliance. Thank you for your consideration.”

At the female warrior’s words, Kang Chaeseok looked quite flustered.

Even if they were basic martial arts, how could they know them better than those who belonged to that sect?

If they had grasped everything from materials alone, it meant the skill of the warriors who had come as examiners was far beyond theirs.

“Urgh…”

Kang Chaeseok said nothing more and simply watched those preparing the exam.

Lee Jagon was checking the examiners’ preparations when he saw someone in the hall and opened his eyes wide.

The other person also gave a slight bow when his eyes met Lee Jagon’s.

“Senior. What brings you here?”

People’s gazes began to focus on Lee Jagon and Jang Sagun.

“Junior, have you been well?”

“Of course. Thanks to your thorough teaching, Senior, I am now serving as the chief of the Seeing Nature Envoys.”

“I knew you would become so.”

Listening quietly, it seemed Lee Jagon and Jang Sagun had once been very close.

“By any chance, is there a student you taught in this exam?”

“Oh dear, I forgot to introduce him.”

Jang Sagun extended his hand to his right and spoke.

“This child is Gye Cheolyeong, an outer disciple of the Taeul Sect and the legitimate heir of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild. I came because there is a remarkable hidden dragon in Hefei, Anhui Province, besides the Two Dragons of the Iron Sword Sect.”

Gye Cheolyeong straightened his shoulders, stepped forward, and offered a fist-and-palm salute.

“I am Gye Cheolyeong of the Gyeryong Merchant Guild.”

“What an imposing young man. I can see why you chose him, Senior.”

“Ho ho ho, you said you had only been administering exams all this time, but has only your way with words improved?”

“Well, in truth, all the children you taught, Senior, went on to the Martial Academy. From our perspective, it makes things easier because we can distinguish jade from stone more readily.”

“Kkeol kkeol kkeol. Yes, yes. I understand. If you are not busy after the exam is over, let us have a drink.”

“I hope we can.”

Because the distance between the children and the two men was not very far, their conversation reached us clearly.

Wang Soso, who had been listening, raised her eyes and said,

“This makes no sense. I will immediately tell Father and raise an objection.”

Wang Soso’s feelings were the same as all of ours.

However, I stopped Wang Soso.

“They have not yet given any special treatment in the exam, so sit still.”

“Orabeoni, the very fact that an examiner and examinee have a personal connection is unfair.”

At that moment, Saryeon cut in.

“Senior Brother.”

“Yes?”

“You should call him Senior Brother, not Orabeoni, right?”

“Ah… I am sorry. Anyway, Senior Sister, you also think this makes no sense, right?”

“Yes. But head senior brother must have a plan. Right?”

Saryeon shot me a look that said she would not let me off if I said now that I did not.

“You both studied the book I gave you, right?”

“I studied hard, but…”

“Yes. I memorized it all.”

Saryeon looked uncertain, while Soso was full of confidence.

“You memorized it all? The amount was not small.”

“All I could do in my room every day was read books. I can memorize that much.”

I nodded slightly.

“The other children should not be different either, right?”

“Junior Sister Soso personally tutored the children who could not understand it.”

“Oh. Then it is fine.”

Even at my confident appearance, Saryeon and Soso tilted their heads as if they did not understand.

“The exam will begin. Examinees, please take your seats.”

The disciples spaced themselves apart, lined up in rows and columns, and sat on small mats. The scholars personally walked around and placed the exam papers face down before them.

“The exam time is one full hour. Examinees, please do your best. Keep in mind that if anyone secretly looks at or copies another person’s answer sheet, they will be disqualified. Begin.”

When the scholar struck a small gong with a ding, the disciples all began turning over their exam papers at once.

Gye Cheolyeong began scanning the exam paper as if already full of confidence.

On the other hand, the disciples still looked dispirited as they stared blankly at the exam papers, their expressions saying that the white thing was paper and the black thing was ink.

‘Notice it!’

After a short while passed, confusion began to appear in Gye Cheolyeong’s eyes as well.

He had encountered a question he had not expected.

In contrast, the dispirited disciples began tilting their heads one by one.

Then slowly, but without stopping, they began writing their answers.

“What is this?”

Below the training ground, Jang Sagun sensed something strange and frowned.

He had seen all the Taeul Sect disciples writing their answers without stopping.

Only then did Gye Cheolyeong realize that he alone was stuck on the questions.

“Huh…”

When he let out a small sigh at the sight of the other disciples, one of the scholars approached and whispered quietly.

“Examinee, if you do not wish to be disqualified, quietly focus on the exam.”

“Ah… yes, yes.”

Gye Cheolyeong lowered his head again, but he still could not focus on the exam.