Second-Rate Warrior Who Dominates the Exam (3)
“The third exam is practical martial arts sparring. The sixteen examinees selected through the previous two exams, please come forward.”
At Lee Jagon’s words, the children who ultimately had not made it into the top sixteen took seats on one side of the great training ground.
Strangely, what differed from my previous life was that no regret or resentment remained on the children’s faces.
Merely seeing that Gye Cheolyeong was not standing alone through personal wealth seemed to have left them with no regrets about the exam.
“Rankings will be selected according to the sparring, so examinees, please do your best until the very end.”
At that moment, one of the children outside the training ground raised his hand high.
It was Gwak Samnam, the third son of the Gwak family, whose father worked in a tavern kitchen.
“Isn’t the exam originally meant to select only one person to go to the Martial Academy? Why are rankings being selected?”
“That is correct. However, special prizes have been prepared to commend the examinees who devoted themselves to studying hard, so please do your best.”
A flash of light began to appear in the eyes of the children who had made it into the sixteen.
Since Saryeon and the Geumpyo brothers had already swept the upper ranks, even if they could not take first place, they were trying to seize the chance for second or third.
Moreover, these were gifts prepared by the Murim Alliance.
They were surely precious things that could not be easily obtained even in the Taeul Sect.
“Head senior brother, what is going on?”
Geumpyo approached with a puzzled face.
“What do you mean?”
“Why is head senior brother ranked eighth?”
I had adjusted my rank after seeing Gye Cheolyeong’s score on the first exam.
“Is this not all the result of wandering around instead of training hard?”
Geumpyo clicked his tongue and said,
“Say something that makes sense. Senior Brother, you wrote the past-question book and even taught us the improved Small Heaven Sword Art, and yet your result is this?”
“You brat. It seems your way of speaking will only be fixed after head senior brother properly spanks you.”
I had grown up like brothers with the three Geumpyo brothers since childhood, so there was no formality between us.
Moreover, there was only a one-year difference between me and Geumpyo, the eldest of the three brothers.
“Be honest. Are you trying to yield to the junior brothers?”
“You brat, I am going to win the third exam anyway, so what problem is there if my scores in the first and second exams are poor?”
“…”
The answer came from beside us instead of Geumpyo.
“Is that so?”
Geumpyo turned his head, startled, lowered his head, fidgeted, and then left.
No matter how mature Geumpyo was, standing before a Seeing Nature Envoy was uncomfortable.
“What are you referring to?”
“I am talking about how your score ended up in this state.”
“I do not know if you heard, but it must be because I neglected my studies and often skipped training.”
“And yet someone like that picked out exam questions one after another like a pinpoint tutor?”
How does this man know that?
“I heard from the examinees who received top scores.”
“Is there a problem?”
“It could become a problem, could it not? Unless the exam was leaked.”
“To leak the exam papers of the Murim Alliance’s Seeing Nature Envoys. Just hearing that sounds terrifying.”
Lee Jagon’s words were something that could not stand from the start.
The management of exam papers was set up so that even the Intelligence Department, the final department of the Military Strategy Division, could not interfere carelessly.
If exam papers were leaked in such a situation, not only would the exam be invalidated, but the status of the One Hundred Eight Peaks would also be shaken.
What Lee Jagon was saying now was not that.
“I would like to hear your story.”
“Is the exam not about to begin soon?”
On the great training ground stood Saryeon, who had the highest overall score, and Un Jihyang, who was ranked ninth.
And a moment later, the Seeing Nature Warrior acting as referee announced the start of the match.
“You are coincidentally eighth.”
I let out a small sigh.
Since I could not say that I had seen the exam papers in my previous life, a natural excuse flowed out.
“In any case, the exam is close to a formality, is it not? Most sects already decide who will go to the Martial Academy. In our case… it is a little special.”
I glanced at Gye Cheolyeong.
His eyes as he watched the arena were red, like someone who had not slept, and his chest was heaving as if he were excited.
“I know the circumstances of your sect. That is not exactly a new story. What I am curious about is this. This exam is different from before. You cannot make a predicted question book by referring to previous exams.”
Lee Jagon did not seem to enjoy rambling.
I obediently nodded.
“I was simply lucky.”
“You were lucky?”
“I used the exam as an excuse to teach things that would be helpful later when they went to the Murim Alliance. It motivates them too, so is that not good?”
“Then why did you deliberately set yourself at eighth place?”
“Someone who can adjust something like that…”
“I have already heard about you. They say you never forget anything you have seen once.”
Lee Jagon was someone who would later become famous enough to earn the title Gentleman Iron Sword.
He was famous for his meticulous personality and flawless sparring, and it seemed that personality had already manifested from here.
There seemed to be a limit to persuading him vaguely.
“It was to take the exam fairly.”
“Are you saying this exam is not fair?”
“The exam is fair. However, I simply wanted to take the exam from the same position as my junior brothers.”
“And that is the result of deliberately lowering your rank?”
“That is right.”
“Why go out of your way to do such a thing?”
“Because there is already someone taking the exam unfairly.”
My gaze turned toward Gye Cheolyeong, and Lee Jagon’s gaze followed mine.
Lee Jagon looked at him for a moment, then said,
“That senior still has not realized that a shortcut can sometimes become a path to death.”
“Will you not stop him?”
“What do you mean?”
There was no way an expert at Lee Jagon’s level would fail to sense something strange.
He was deliberately pretending not to know.
“Do you have to preserve your senior’s face?”
The other day, Lee Jagon had spoken of the strictness of the exam to Jang Sagun and completely dismissed his opinion in front of everyone.
Thanks to that, the disciples had been able to believe that this exam was fair.
“The Seeing Nature Envoys are not influenced by any institution of the Murim Alliance. Much less by old affection that has already passed.”
“I see.”
“You seem to suspect something, yet you are not appealing for unfairness?”
“It does not matter. I intend to make it fair myself.”
Lee Jagon’s gaze looked as if he were looking at some strange living creature.
“““Waaaaaaaaah!”””
“So cool!”
At that moment, Un Jihyang’s sword had just been sent flying, and the Seeing Nature Warriors declared Hong Saryeon’s victory.
The disciples and hall masters also gave generous applause for Saryeon’s excellent swordsmanship.
#
The exam did not take long.
In the leading group, Saryeon did not go beyond thirty moves in any sparring match against the disciples.
She did not use the Great True Art or Flashing Thunder Sword Art she had secretly learned at all, but even with only the studies she had learned in Busaeng Hall, there was no disciple who could handle Saryeon, who practiced all night in the sect leader’s personal training ground every night.
After defeating Eunho, who had reached the semifinals, Saryeon secured her place in the finals.
Up to this point, there was not much different from my previous life.
On the other hand, in the rear group where I and Gye Cheolyeong were placed, Gye Cheolyeong displayed overwhelming skill.
If Saryeon had not gone beyond thirty moves, Gye Cheolyeong displayed something astonishing by not going beyond ten moves.
Since the use of martial arts was free in the third exam, Gye Cheolyeong did not hesitate to use the Three Shadows Sword, and his first opponent even saw his own blue steel sword cut apart by Gye Cheolyeong’s sword.
“The next match is between Gye Cheolyeong and Jin Sowoon!”
At the Seeing Nature Warrior’s call, Gye Cheolyeong and I stood facing each other on the training ground.
The person who won here would face Saryeon in the final match.
“I finally meet you here.”
Unlike usual, Gye Cheolyeong was scattering tremendous fighting spirit in all directions.
Because it was spreading out without being properly contained, just standing in front of him made my skin prickle.
“Are you tired? Your eyes are red.”
“Yes. That is right. I am tired, so I plan to finish this quickly and rest.”
When Gye Cheolyeong unfolded the opening stance, the Seeing Nature Warrior standing in the center stepped back.
Instead of taking the opening stance in the same way, I approached Gye Cheolyeong.
“That is not it, is it? Is it not because of the Blood Explosion Pill that you want to finish this quickly?”
“…!!!”
Gye Cheolyeong’s eyes widened.
In my previous life as well, Gye Cheolyeong had used the Blood Explosion Pill because he was worried about Hong Saryeon chasing close behind him.
I learned this only after the Righteous-Demonic War broke out, while reading the materials of the Intelligence Department, so far too much time had already passed to correct the wrongdoing.
“How…”
“I will correct what is wrong.”
Before Gye Cheolyeong could say anything, I also took the opening stance and immediately thrust toward Gye Cheolyeong’s neck.
Clang!
The force with which Gye Cheolyeong knocked away my sword pushed in heavily.
“You will not be able to do anything!”
“Is that so?”
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.
I drew up five-star internal energy and unfolded the original Small Heaven Sword Art.
The confident Gye Cheolyeong unfolded the Three Shadows Sword, and my swift sword strikes were often blocked by his sword shadows and cut off one after another.
“Go ahead, try using even that petty trick. If you stretch out your hand, I will cut off your hand. If you stretch out your foot, I will cut off your foot. I am not indecisive like Namgung San!”
It seemed Gye Cheolyeong had accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction over the matter with Namgung San.
Gye Cheolyeong’s sword, filled with the power of the Blood Explosion Pill, was as heavy as a boulder.
I changed my sword force to the breaking form of the Small Heaven Sword Art and began responding again.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The speed of the breaking Small Heaven Sword Art, which aimed at vital points, became even faster, and Gye Cheolyeong could not keep up with that speed.
It was not easy for him to control the suddenly increased internal energy.
Gye Cheolyeong’s clothes were cut one by one, and small wounds began to appear underneath.
“You son of a bitch!”
After seeing blood, Gye Cheolyeong began drawing up all the energy in his entire body.
The killing intent pouring out was intense enough to rival that of famous experts.
“I will never forgive you.”
I do not know what I had done so wrong, but Gye Cheolyeong’s sword, containing all the resentment of the past, was no longer at the level of a sparring match.
Even so, what was strange was that Lee Jagon, the Seeing Nature Envoy, was not stopping the sparring.
‘What is this?’
I set aside my stray thoughts for a moment and raised my internal energy to seven-star.
Gye Cheolyeong felt frustrated with himself, as though he could cut me down at any moment but could not quite do so, and that feeling showed in his sword.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gye Cheolyeong’s sword strikes were clearly drawing up all of his internal energy.
Because there was a condition that treasured swords could not be used in the exam, I could not bring the Black Dragon Sword, so I could only watch fragments of my blue steel sword fly in all directions.
“You ruined it! You ruined everything!”
The speed of my sparring match with Gye Cheolyeong had already far surpassed the level of examinees.
The disciples could not take their eyes off the sparring between Gye Cheolyeong and me.
Boom. Bang!
When Gye Cheolyeong’s sword struck down on the great training ground, the marble shattered into pieces, and fragments scattered in every direction.
“S-Shouldn’t this be stopped?”
“Cheolyeong’s condition seems a little strange, does it not?”
Not only the hall masters but even the Seeing Nature Warriors sensed something strange and looked at Lee Jagon, but Lee Jagon only silently shook his head.
And I decided the time had come, so I drew up all my ten-star internal energy.
Clang!
Gye Cheolyeong, who had clashed with my sword, took three steps back for the first time.
“Senior Brother, that was exactly the hundredth move. It seems dangerous if you go any further. Will you be all right?”
“!!!”
The safe range of the Blood Explosion Pill was one hundred moves.
Gye Cheolyeong, who had already unleashed one hundred and twenty moves, had gone beyond the safe range.
“Just give up. There is no need to give up your life because of the Martial Academy.”
“You… you… are interfering with my great ambition until the very end!”
An even greater wave of energy burst from Gye Cheolyeong’s body.
The Blood Explosion Pill had caused a second explosion.
“Hup!”
“That is!”
“Sword energy?!”
People were stunned when they saw the red energy dwelling on Gye Cheolyeong’s sword.
Thanks to using power beyond his original level, Gye Cheolyeong was even able to emit sword energy.
But this was absolutely not something to be pleased about.
Now, a permanent wound would remain in Gye Cheolyeong’s dantian, and if things went wrong, he could even fall into qi deviation.
“No!”
Someone in the audience shouted as if squeezing out their voice, but no one turned their gaze there.
“I will kill you. I will kill you. I will definitely kill you!”
Gye Cheolyeong charged in like someone who had lost his mind.
“Senior Brother, do you know? How many sins you have committed?”
Gye Cheolyeong seemed unable to hear me anymore and rushed in like a madman.
In response, I too did not run away and charged toward Gye Cheolyeong.
The sin of becoming an officer of the Murim Alliance through the Martial Academy in my previous life, and using the position of head senior brother to work the junior brothers like slaves.
The sin of driving the disciples to the very front line of the Righteous-Demonic War for the sake of your own achievements.
The sin of pretending not to know when the Taeul Sect was in a desperate situation.
“I will settle all those sins here!”
“Die! Die! Die! Die!”
Gye Cheolyeong kept shouting “die” over and over while swinging his sword wildly, and I dodged those sword strikes, entered his chest, and unfolded Lotus Flower, a hand technique of the Flowing Cloud Gate’s grafting technique, making Gye Cheolyeong spin three whole times.
Thud. Boom.
Gye Cheolyeong sprang up from the spot as if he felt no pain and charged at me.
Clang, clang, clang.
Though unstable, sword energy was still sword energy.
It was not something an ordinary blue steel sword could block.
As proof, cracks began to form little by little in my blue steel sword.
“What a fine sight, Jin Sowoon!”
Gye Cheolyeong spoke as if his victory was already certain.
‘It makes sense.’
Sword energy, which could only be unfolded after entering the ranks of first-rate warriors, was an object of admiration for children of this age, no less than any divine sword.
“I will kill you! Go to the Martial Academy! And rise in the world!”
His lips gleamed, and his eyes were bloodshot.
Gye Cheolyeong was already convinced of his victory.
“If you kill me, you will lose by disqualification, Senior Brother.”
“Shut up!”
The size of the red energy doubled, and Gye Cheolyeong unfolded the Three Shadows Sword with all his strength.
Three solemn sword energies aimed at my vital points and pressed in, leaving me unable to move.
Although he had used the Blood Explosion Pill, it was certainly an outstanding move.
‘But…’
In my previous life, my enemies were full of those who spewed not only sword energy but even sword aura like toys.
“Do you think you can face them with such meager achievement!”
One step.
Along with the step I took into the sword force of the Three Shadows Sword, its sword energy brushed past my vital points by a hair’s breadth.
Two steps.
Following the step I took once more, the red sword energy grazed my earlobe.
Three steps.
Toward the final swing of the Three Shadows Sword, I thrust in the Small Heaven Sword Art.
Swaaaek.
Clang!
With a sharp metallic sound that seemed to pierce the eardrums, half of the blue steel sword I was holding flew away.
At that sight, Gye Cheolyeong opened his eyes wide and laughed.
“I won, Jin So…”
But only for a moment.
Because I had knocked it aside, an opening had spread outward along with his sword, and I took the final step through it.
“Spend the rest of your life atoning, Senior Brother.”
I swung the sword that only had half its blade remaining twice.
Slaaaash.
Slaaash.
Once from his left shoulder to his right waist,
and once from his right shoulder to his left waist.
Two sword wounds crossed Gye Cheolyeong’s body.
Splurt!
Like fruit bursting open, blood exploded from Gye Cheolyeong’s body.
“Cheolyeong!”
Gye Yeonseok, who had been watching from the audience, rushed over like lightning and held Gye Cheolyeong in his arms.
“Come to your senses! Cheolyeong!”
Seeing him covered in bright red blood all over, his eyes rolled back, Gye Yeonseok shouted furiously.
“What are you all doing! That bastard! Jin Sowoon used killing techniques on our Cheolyeong!”
At Gye Yeonseok’s words, Lee Jagon stepped onto the training ground.
“The match is decided. The winner of this sparring match is Jin Sowoon.”
At Lee Jagon’s words, Gye Yeonseok, who had entrusted Gye Cheolyeong to the physician who came with them, began foaming at the mouth.
“What nonsense! That bastard used killing techniques! Are your eyes knots in wood?”
“To begin with, the one who raised sword energy and used killing techniques first in the sparring match was Gye Cheolyeong.”
“…But… but…”
“Leave. Even if you are a parent, I will not overlook any further behavior.”
When Lee Jagon turned his head and looked at me with curiosity,
“Krrr… I will kill… I will kill…”
Gye Cheolyeong, who had been held in the physician’s arms, sprang to his feet.
His entire eyes were glowing red, and white steam poured from his mouth despite it not being winter.
Proof that the Blood Explosion Pill had gone berserk.
‘He will have to spend the rest of his life lying in bed.’
Just as I was about to turn away,
“It is because of you… you! You ruined all my plans.”
Gye Cheolyeong shook off the physician and his father, then kicked off the ground and flew up.
“…Even if I end here, I will definitely kill you!”
The moment Gye Cheolyeong’s voice rang out thunderously and the disciples flinched their shoulders, I also corrected my stance to respond.
However,
Whoosh.
Lee Jagon, who had been standing between me and Gye Cheolyeong, flew up quickly, appeared above Gye Cheolyeong’s head, and brought his hand blade down just like that.
Thud. Crash!
Gye Cheolyeong was slammed into the training ground in a single move, bleeding from all seven orifices.
“Cheolyeong! Cheolyeong!”
Gye Yeonseok approached Cheolyeong and checked his condition.
“What is the meaning of this! A Seeing Nature Envoy has done this to an examinee!”
Toward Gye Yeonseok, whose face was flushed red as he shouted furiously, Lee Jagon spoke in a low voice.
“Do you know the punishment an examinee receives for using a forbidden drug?”
“!!!”
“You should know. I intend to visit the Gyeryong Merchant Guild as soon as the special admission exam ends.”
“…”
Gye Yeonseok clenched his teeth and turned around, looking around.
“Jang Sagun! Jang Sagun! You son of a bitch!”
He was searching for the cause that had driven the matter this far.
However, Jang Sagun and the two assistants, who had been stuck beside Gye Yeonseok whispering in his ear until just now, had disappeared without a trace.
“Guildmaster! We must move the young master first.”
“Krrgh! What are you all doing! Hurry and move Cheolyeong!”
When Gye Yeonseok spoke while foaming at the mouth, the warriors and physicians carrying Gye Cheolyeong on their backs quickly left the Taeul Sect.
“As expected, you knew.”
“Rather, why did you not speak more strongly? If you had spoken more strongly, Gye Cheolyeong would not have ended up like this.”
I spoke in disbelief.
“Are you asking me why I did not defy a Seeing Nature Envoy?”
“If there was a flawed rule, you should have spoken up even if you had to endure harm.”
Lee Jagon spoke as if he had been testing something.
“Now that I see it, you are quite shameless.”
“You were a little different from what I expected.”
I had no idea what he had expected from me, but Lee Jagon smacked his lips as if disappointed.
“If you could not handle it, I would have stopped the exam somehow.”
“You had the ability to do so, yet did not?”
“Using a forbidden drug in an exam that should be fair is a sin of betraying one’s teacher and destroying one’s ancestors. As you know, our Taeul Sect cannot punish him through normal custom. But that does not mean it can simply be overlooked.”
“Huh. So you deliberately left it alone despite knowing?”
“Yes.”
Lee Jagon’s eyes shook narrowly.
“And now, you must take responsibility for having knowingly overlooked this fact, Envoy.”
Lee Jagon’s lips twitched as if he were forcing himself not to laugh.
“To whom?”
“Is the Education Pavilion not under the Intelligence Department? I intend to submit an appeal there. I happen to know someone personally.”
Of course, if I grew close to him, I would have to settle down in the Intelligence Department, so this was merely a threat.
At that, Lee Jagon laughed without hiding it.
“The Education Pavilion is under the Intelligence Department, but it does not receive outside influence except for the command of the pavilion master. However, if it is a request from the chief strategist, that is a little different.”
I could not understand at all what he was trying to say, so I tilted my head.
“Before I left the Murim Alliance, the chief strategist said something. He told me about Jin Sowoon of the Taeul Sect and instructed me to submit a report about him.”
“!”
It seemed Jegal Somyeong had still not given up on me, despite my refusal.
“Thanks to that, I will be able to report not only your outstanding mind but also your martial arts skill, which appears even more outstanding. Would the chief strategist not be pleased?”
For the first time, I failed to manage my expression and furrowed my brow deeply.
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