Chapter 101 :

Chapter 101. The Third Stage of the Hell Official Exam (4)

Whenever the Hell Official Exam began, countless people gathered in Namak.

The sparring tournament held during the third stage was a spectacle that even those with no connection to the murim world had to see at least once in their lives.

At the same time, it was one of the essential destinations for gossip-loving pleasure seekers searching for stories to accompany their drinks.

Namak was livelier than ever with outsiders, including not only people from Henan Province but also spectators who had traveled from other provinces.

However, the people who actually lived in Namak were indifferent to the sparring tournament.

“Aren’t you going to watch the sparring?”

“It’s the same thing every time. Why bother watching? You should hurry back to work too. When else are we going to make this much money?”

Since Henan was home to Shaolin, one of the greatest pillars of the murim world, Shaolin usually claimed most of the first-checkpoint plaques from the third stage.

Wudang of Hubei Province occasionally participated as well, but since Shaolin and Wudang had no reason to clash with each other, the results of the third stage rarely changed significantly.

“Didn’t you hear? There’s a huge commotion right now.”

“A commotion? Why? Are Wudang and Shaolin finally going to fight each other?”

“You fool! Wudang just lost to the Taeul Sect.”

“The Taeul Sect? The sect of that supposedly fabricated legend, the Taeul Sword Emperor?”

“That’s right!”

At the news of this sudden upset, even the merchants who had been busy conducting business in Namak began closing their shops one after another.

The fall of an absolute powerhouse of the murim world was enough to make the hearts of even ordinary people race.

“This can’t be!”

“Hyeonsu of the Wudang Sect lost?”

Those who had personally watched the sparring at the grand training ground of the Martial Alliance’s Namak Branch were even more shocked.

The disciples of Shaolin, Wudang’s traditional rival, were especially stunned.

“Senior Brother Ilmyeong was telling the truth.”

“Indeed. Now I understand why he repeatedly warned us not to spar against the Taeul Sect.”

The Shaolin disciples taking the Martial Academy examination had followed Ilmyeong’s warning and refrained from challenging the Taeul Sect disciples.

They had not understood his reasons until they witnessed Jin Sowoon’s single technique.

“Even so, Benefactor Hyeonsu’s response was rather baffling. How could Taiji fail to distinguish an illusion?”

“It was not that he could not distinguish it. He threw away his own opportunity to do so.”

Had Hyeonsu remained focused and prepared from the beginning, he could have blocked it easily enough.

The illusion and changing sword had deceived his eyes, but there had not been many true swords hidden within them.

However, Hyeonsu had voluntarily conceded three techniques and had even lowered his guard.

Still, there was little he could have done.

No one had expected the Taeul Sect’s illusory sword to be so bizarre and extraordinary.

Grit.

Hyeonsu’s face was flushed crimson as he descended from the grand training ground.

It had been bad enough that he had boastfully promised to concede three techniques.

Then, startled by the very first technique Jin Sowoon unleashed, he abandoned defense and launched an attack, only to be struck by the countless illusory fists filling the air and driven out of the grand training ground.

He had humiliated himself before the people who had traveled great distances merely to catch a glimpse of Wudang’s robes.

Instead of displaying Wudang’s majesty, he had smeared filth across its name.

Having never experienced such disgrace before, Hyeonsu had no idea how to compose himself.

“……”

Even so, Hyeonsu was the first to speak.

He felt as though the awkward silence would suffocate him unless he said something.

“Th-the transformations in that fellow’s illusory sword are not ordinary.”

“It did not seem like much— I-I see.”

Junior Brother Hyeongun had been about to say, “It did not seem like much to me,” but another junior brother elbowed him in the side.

He tightly shut his mouth and merely nodded.

“Even so, the principles of the true sword hidden within it were extremely vicious.”

“Yes… Yes, they must have been.”

Their reluctant answers hardly sounded convincing, but Hyeonsu could not criticize their behavior.

Had he not left whatever dignity he possessed as their Senior Brother behind on that grand training ground?

It was now time for another Taeul Sect examinee to step forward.

A moment later, Lee Dongryong, the youngest disciple of the Taeul Sect, climbed onto the grand training ground.

He was short and held an adult-sized sword tightly against his chest.

He looked like a sword attendant, a child tasked with carrying someone else’s sword, and laughter erupted from various parts of the audience.

“Ahem. The Thirteen Divine Martial Swords should be well suited to facing the Taeul Sect’s illusory sword.”

Hyeonjin, who had been about to climb onto the grand training ground, stopped abruptly upon hearing Hyeonsu.

“Above all else, the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords are fast. They should make it easier to confront the true sword hidden among the illusions.”

Under normal circumstances, Hyeonjin would have answered loudly.

Instead, he silently stared back and forth between Hyeonsu and Hyeonmyeong.

Hyeonsu’s face turned bright red under that gaze.

“I… think Senior Brother Hyeonsu is right.”

Hyeonmyeong hurriedly supported Hyeonsu’s advice, but the redness refused to leave Hyeonsu’s face.

Even within the Wudang Sect, the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords occupied a position close to that of a killing sword art.

Unlike the Taiji Sword, which sought enlightenment by delving deeply into the principles of yin and yang, it had been created to subdue and kill opponents as efficiently as possible.

Naturally, it was a sword art that was not even taught to children whose understanding of the Taiji Sword remained immature.

The Thirteen Divine Martial Swords pursued such extreme efficiency that even wandering warriors with considerable experience in the murim world found it difficult to confront.

To oppose it, one either needed extensive experience in killing or a sword art even more efficient than the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords.

There was no possibility that the Taeul Sect possessed such a sword art.

‘The child is simply pitiful.’

At least he would not have suffered a grave injury had Hyeonjin used the Taiji Sword.

However, to restore Senior Brother Hyeonsu’s dignity, Hyeonjin had no choice but to use the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords.

Now that the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords had been chosen, the Taeul Sect’s youngest disciple was certain to suffer serious injuries.

His two older brothers might have to spend the rest of their lives caring for Dongryong.

“Prepare……”

The small child, who had not even finished growing, assumed an opening stance without knowing what future awaited him.

It was the same opening stance Jin Sowoon had used.

“Begin!”

At the referee’s command, the two charged toward each other.

Hyeonjin stepped with the Cloud-Ladder Ascent and intercepted the swift sword unleashed in the opening exchange.

The Taeul Sect’s sword incorporated principles that combined swift sword and illusory sword.

It inserted changing sword principles into speed and illusion, creating confusion.

However, such deception was no match for a faster and more efficient sword.

As Hyeonjin unleashed the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords, his blade overtook Dongryong’s sword and swept across the child’s chest.

Only three exchanges had passed, yet the sparring match was already about to end.

But at that moment—

“Huh!”

The swift sword that had been approaching as though to cut off Hyeonjin’s wrist abruptly changed direction.

Hyeonjin was trying to slash Dongryong’s chest, yet Dongryong thrust directly toward his throat.

‘Was that why his swift sword was not particularly fast?’

Hyeonjin had thought it slow for a swift sword, but this principle had been hidden within it.

He had no choice but to withdraw the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords and open the distance before rushing in again.

At that moment, afterimages of swords bloomed from Dongryong’s blade.

They were swords filled with the same illusion and transformation that Jin Sowoon had previously displayed.

Since Hyeonjin had remained intensely alert, he was able to faintly distinguish the illusions from the transformations and charge forward once more.

Flinch.

Hyeonjin’s steps abruptly stopped.

They were unquestionably illusory swords, yet the vital points they targeted were terrifyingly precise.

Even the slightest graze could rupture a blood vessel and lead to death.

Without realizing it, Hyeonjin instinctively extended his left hand toward the illusory sword.

Stab.

“Ugh!”

“What was that? Why did he reach toward the sword?”

“Has he lost his mind?”

Hyeonjin stared in shock as crimson blood sprayed from his hand.

It had unquestionably been an illusory sword.

When had it turned into a true sword?

Or had Dongryong disguised a true sword as an illusion from the very beginning?

As though proving that the previous move had not been a coincidence, Dongryong continued his sword form with the same composed expression.

Several illusory swords appeared around him.

This time, every one of them thrust toward Hyeonjin’s vital points.

Desperate, Hyeonjin used the Cloud-Ladder Ascent and escaped Dongryong’s sword range.

“Waaaaah!”

Cheers suddenly erupted from every direction.

Only then did the bewildered Hyeonjin realize that he had retreated ten full steps against the Taeul Sect’s youngest disciple.

Moreover, despite the deafening cheers, Dongryong continued staring at him tenaciously and pressed after him.

Illusion and transformation ultimately existed to deceive the opponent and conceal the true attack within them.

Common sense dictated that such techniques should bloom ever more brilliantly and intricately.

However, Dongryong’s illusory sword defied common sense.

Even the swords that were nothing more than illusions targeted only the most dangerous vital points.

A true sword was then concealed among those illusory swords to take the opponent’s life.

‘An illusory sword created solely for killing?’

Hyeonjin could not bring himself to engage again against such a bizarre sword art, the likes of which he had never heard of or witnessed.

It felt as though he were fighting an assassin head-on.

Not some insignificant assassin, either, but one who had reached the pinnacle of the killing sword after slaughtering thousands.

Using the Thirteen Divine Martial Swords against such an opponent was something only an idiot would do.

Unless he immediately filtered out the illusions and transformations, he could die at any moment.

Hyeonjin instinctively glared at Hyeonsu as though he wanted to kill him.

That fool’s pointless advice had put Hyeonjin in danger of losing to a Taeul Sect disciple.

Had he used the Taiji Sword, his primary sword art, from the beginning, he would never have become so confused by the illusory sword.

The Taeul Sect disciple was estimated to possess slightly over ten years of internal energy.

Hyeonjin possessed four times that amount.

What possible reason could there be for him to lose?

The more tangled his sword became against Dongryong’s blade, the more tangled his thoughts became as well.

Once his mind grew confused, the illusory swords he had already struggled to distinguish began to look like true swords.

He drew out his internal energy at full strength and knocked every sword aside, but most were nothing more than illusions.

Unable to control his speed, Hyeonjin swung his sword like a madman.

“Good heavens……”

“What is he doing?”

“It looks as though he is so frightened of his opponent approaching that he is wildly swinging his sword.”

Hyeonjin swung more desperately and consumed more internal energy, yet he was the one retreating.

In contrast, Dongryong of the Taeul Sect showed almost no emotional change from the moment the sparring match began.

His unwavering appearance tormented Hyeonjin even further.

“This is impossible! How can the likes of the Taeul Sect—”

“……”

At that instant, a red light flashed in Dongryong’s eyes.

Hyeonjin’s entire body froze beneath the thick killing intent he had never experienced before.

Dongryong then slipped inside his guard.

“Do not insult our sect.”

As the voice whispered beside his ear, Hyeonjin’s world began spinning.

A heavy impact struck his entire body.

When he regained his senses, he found himself lying on the ground.

The sword that should have been in his hand lay far away.

Directly beneath his throat, a sharpened blade hovered as though it might pierce straight through his neck at any moment.

“Stop! Stop! The winner is Lee Dongryong of the Taeul Sect!”

Cheers erupted from every direction at a result that neither Hyeonsu nor anyone else had anticipated.

“Waaaaah!”

Dongryong once again hugged the sword, which was larger than his body, tightly against his chest.

The killing intent he had displayed moments earlier had vanished without a trace.

With an innocent expression, he bowed toward the audience in every direction and descended from the grand training ground.

The spectators could not contain their excitement at the completely unexpected result.

This was already the second defeat.

Disciples of the Wudang Sect, who were commonly compared to dragons, had lost consecutively to disciples of an insignificant sect.

“See? What did I tell you?”

“It’s true. The Wudang Sect! The Wudang Sect actually lost!”

“Were the rumors about the Taeul Sword Emperor true after all?”

The spectators who now packed the stands erupted into cheers while remaining unable to conceal their shock.

The disciples of the other sects watching the scene reacted similarly.

Some secretly breathed sighs of relief.

They had considered the Taeul Sect the easiest opponent and believed that whoever claimed them first would gain an effortless victory.

Now they were grateful that Wudang had taken the Taeul Sect from them.

“……”

“……!”

Hyeonjin suddenly sprang to his feet and moved five steps away from Hyeonsu.

Hyeonsu’s face crumpled like a sheet of paper.

Naturally, the Wudang Sect had suffered the greatest shock.

After descending from the sparring platform, Hyeonjin kept his head lowered and refused to meet anyone’s eyes.

Whenever Hyeonsu attempted to say anything, Hyeonjin glared at him as though he wanted to kill him.

Because of that, Hyeonsu could neither comfort Hyeonjin nor devise a new strategy.

He knew what he had done wrong.

The Taeul Sect’s illusory sword was far more meticulous than he had expected.

While Jin Sowoon’s illusory swords had been little more than decoration, Dongryong’s illusory swords were more efficient than most swift sword arts.

Had Hyeonjin confronted him with the Taiji Sword from the very beginning and crushed him with superior internal energy, it would have been an easy victory.

Instead, Hyeonsu had led him into an unnecessary approach and caused him to lose.

“The Taeul Sect’s illusory swords occasionally conceal true swords within them. Therefore, remaining calm and using your own sword without being deceived appears to be the most important thing.”

Those words came from Hyeonjin as Hyeonhyang prepared to enter the training ground next.

Having watched the previous matches, Hyeonhyang was already well aware of that point.

When Hyeonhyang climbed onto the platform, Eunho stepped forward for the Taeul Sect.

Hyeonsu cautiously approached Hyeonjin, intending to apologize.

Cheers sounded from every direction.

The spectators seemed thoroughly absorbed in the tournament, and their cheers grew even louder as Eunho entered the sparring platform.

Where am I?

Who am I?

In Eunho’s mind, despite being the architect of the “Grand Operation to Send Our Reckless Eldest Senior Brother to the Martial Academy,” there had never been any possibility that he himself would enter the sparring platform during the third stage.

He had possessed only around ten years of internal energy.

After recently consuming the elixir Eldest Senior Brother had obtained, that amount had increased to roughly fifteen years.

Even so, he had never imagined that it would be enough to pass the third stage.

Those who reached the third stage were already monsters among people of their own age.

Among those monsters, Shaolin and Wudang were considered the greatest monsters of all.

One of them was now standing before him.

From the perspective of Eunho, who possessed the sharpest mind among the three brothers, this was an unwinnable match.

He turned toward the Taeul Sect party.

Eldest Senior Brother casually raised his thumb.

Of course, Eldest Senior Brother was a strange person, so naturally he had been able to win.

Dongryong, standing beside him, raised his thumb as well.

Of course, Dongryong, who had awakened and controlled the Heavenly Slaughter Star, had also been able to win.

Beside him, Geumpyo raised his thumb with a face filled with nervousness.

Brother, put that finger down.

‘What in the world are they thinking?’

The previous night, the moment the matchups were decided, Eldest Senior Brother had taken Geumpyo and Eunho away for an emergency training session.

“You will learn three techniques starting now. If you practice nothing but these with everything you have, you will undoubtedly win tomorrow’s match.”

With those words, Eldest Senior Brother demonstrated a certain sword form.

At first, Eunho had tilted his head, wondering what it was.

It was the Taiji Sword.

“This is the Taiji Sword, the Wudang Sect’s primary sword art. You two will devote yourselves to learning three breaking forms designed to destroy it.”

Eunho had no idea when Eldest Senior Brother had learned the Taiji Sword.

However, the next three techniques he demonstrated made Eunho’s eyes widen.

“Uh… so, that is……”

“You saw enough to understand it, right?”

Eldest Senior Brother slowly demonstrated the Taiji Sword.

Eunho responded by imitating the breaking form he had just witnessed.

Then—

The Side Dragon Sword was violently deflected from Eldest Senior Brother’s hand and nearly flew away.

“……Huh.”

“You saw that, right?”

“What in the world is this……?”

“Questions come later. You two must stay awake all night and master these three techniques.”

Geumpyo raised his hand.

“Does Dongryong not need to learn them?”

“Dongryong does not need to learn them. That is the only way our opponents will fall for it.”

Eunho still had no idea what Eldest Senior Brother was plotting, but Geumpyo nodded and assumed his stance.

Brother, that is not the important part.

Ask the question that actually matters.

“Eldest Senior Brother, what happens if we learn these three techniques but the Wudang Sect does not use the Taiji Sword?”

“You do not need to worry about that. Once they experience fighting me and Dongryong, they will have no choice but to use it.”

“Are you referring to that belief that something will happen if you simply believe strongly enough?”

He should not have asked that final question.

During the remainder of their training, Eldest Senior Brother struck him several times with the flat of the Side Dragon Sword.

They stayed awake all night and mastered the three techniques.

Eunho would never admit aloud that watching Jin Sowoon handle both him and Geumpyo alone had made Eldest Senior Brother seem even more extraordinary.

In any case, if the three techniques he had spent the entire night learning proved useless, Eunho intended to surrender the moment the match began.

He could not afford to be injured now.

He had to accompany Eldest Senior Brother on his great journey.

However—

“Wow… It actually worked.”

Hyeonhyang of the Wudang Sect assumed the opening stance of the Taiji Sword.

“Believing really does make things come true.”

Eunho was beginning to worry that he might eventually become as devoted to Eldest Senior Brother as someone falling into a religion.

Having stayed awake all night to learn the three techniques, Eunho prepared the opening stance of the Twin Heaven Sword Art and waited.