Chapter 11 :

Chapter 11

Act Three: The Grand Martial Path Entrance Examination (4)

Murmurs spread like waves.

It was not the revelation that the Hakjo could speak with a human voice, nor Kang Yitae’s movement, which had been too fast for the eye to follow, that surprised everyone most.

It was Yise’s reaction.

Astonishingly, he continued circulating his energy and regulating his breathing despite the commotion.

The handful of spiritual energy introduced through the Hakjo flowed through the boy’s body and gradually became more vigorous.

It seemed he had consumed a miraculous elixir in the past.

Once the spiritual energy acted as a catalyst, the dormant energies that had previously lacked anywhere to settle began revealing their presence.

“He entered a selfless trance in this situation?”

Kang Yitae could only laugh incredulously.

Even if the boy were attaining enlightenment, he should still be able to hear Kang Yitae’s voice.

He had been mistaken for a spy from a demonic sect, while the cold edge of a sword hovered beside his neck, ready to sever his artery.

It might sound as though Kang Yitae were praising himself, but he could eradicate an Energy Refinement cultivator as easily as crushing an insect merely with the pressure of his presence.

The energy he was currently releasing should have been impossible for the boy to endure.

Even the examiners were struggling to withstand it, while the applicants staggered away one by one.

Yet Yise appeared completely unconcerned.

He ravenously contemplated his realization as though hurriedly gathering and devouring every fragment of enlightenment.

His audacity went beyond mere recklessness.

One of the examiners protested to Kang Yitae.

“Hall Master, you must dispose of him. The Grand Martial Path’s rules state that spies from demonic sects must be executed immediately upon discovery.”

“Wait.”

Kang Yitae withdrew his sword and restrained his imposing presence before raising his palm.

The examiner’s words were not wrong.

However, an opposing principle also existed.

“If a disciple of the Grand Martial Path is attaining enlightenment, protecting them even at the cost of one’s life is also one of our supreme principles.”

“But this person—”

“He isn’t a disciple yet. But neither has he been confirmed as a spy. The demonic energy inside him is extraordinarily suspicious, but no demonic sect would be foolish enough to infiltrate someone who openly radiates demonic energy.”

Kang Yitae’s presence gradually receded and disappeared.

He had already weighed the importance of the situation and reached his conclusion.

“If he possesses an unusual constitution, then the enlightenment of someone who may become our disciple takes priority. Move everyone away and continue the examination elsewhere. I and three of you examiners will stand guard over him. You—summon every Hall Master in the vicinity.”

The examiners immediately prostrated themselves in response to his decisive order.

The selected examiner promptly shot away.

The examination was temporarily suspended.

The applicants gathered to one side and whispered among themselves.

Meanwhile, Kang Yitae and the examiners formed a circle around Yise and observed him.

Within Yise’s body, however, a desperate battle was underway.

The moment the Hakjo’s beak pierced his heart was like a single droplet falling upon perfectly still water.

A crown-shaped splash formed upon the surface, while the resulting ripples spread like vibrations and awakened every corner of his body.

Two separate reactions followed.

The first came from the ominous energy that had arrogantly occupied one part of his body and made him uncomfortable.

He had not even known whether the second energy existed.

But the instant that single droplet of spiritual energy entered him, the hidden energy joined it and expanded like a snowball rolling down a slope.

The two energies refused to mix, like water and oil.

They pushed against each other before suddenly releasing waves of heat.

His insides felt as though they were burning.

Nausea rose through him, and cold sweat poured down his body.

Yise instinctively sensed that if he failed to endure and collapsed now, he would be left permanently disabled.

The two energies raged independently of Yise’s will.

Strangely, whenever they surged through his body and battered it from within, his bones and muscles seemed to break, mend themselves, and grow stronger.

He thought he heard voices discussing what they should do with him, but at some point, the sounds around him disappeared.

How much time passed?

Something cracked within his body with a grinding noise.

It was simultaneously hot and cold, clamorous and silent.

The two energies that had violently collided with one another suddenly began swimming through his body while maintaining a slight distance.

It was an uncomfortable coexistence.

Even with his eyes closed, Yise felt as though he could see through his own body.

He sensed the blood flowing through his acupoints.

Beside it flowed spiritual energy.

Farther away flowed the dense, viscous current of demonic energy.

He could sense everything clearly.

When Yise opened his eyes, he truly understood what it meant to awaken one’s vision.

An entirely different world from the one he had previously known unfolded before him.

His radiant golden vision distinguished the spiritual and demonic energies that composed the world by their colors.

“This brat is truly something. Even if your Spiritual Eyes have just opened, it seems these esteemed seniors standing before you still aren’t worthy of your attention. Watch where you’re looking unless you want to lose those eyes.”

Only then did Yise look at the four men and women surrounding him.

Chief Examiner Kang Yitae.

A woman with brilliant red hair that seemed to burn like fire.

An enormous, muscular man wearing tiger pelts.

And a familiar-looking Spirit Kin woman.

Spiritual energy densely filled every part of the world, yet Yise could sense nothing in the spaces surrounding those four people.

More precisely, he was probably incapable of sensing what was there.

It was as though an invisible barrier surrounded them and prevented anyone from prying.

“Please forgive my discourtesy.”

Yise corrected his posture and bowed his head.

Once he became aware of it, the pressure weighing upon him was tremendous.

Was this what sinking into the deepest ocean felt like?

It was as though a thousand-pound boulder were crushing him.

Judging by their presences, they were undoubtedly leading figures of the Grand Martial Path.

He had ignored such exalted seniors and become absorbed in his own affairs, so he was certainly at fault.

“Enough nonsense. Explain the demonic energy inside your body. You will also need a way to prove that you aren’t a spy from a demonic sect.”

At Kang Yitae’s words, Yise addressed the woman who appeared to be a Spirit Kin.

If a member of the Spirit-Kin Race held a senior position within the Grand Martial Path, then telling the truth should not cause any problems.

Even so, Yise wanted to remain cautious until the end.

“May I speak openly about the Spirit-Kin Race?”

The Spirit Kin woman tilted her head.

“Why are you asking me? The Spirit-Kin Race and the Grand Martial Path are firm allies, so you don’t need my permission to explain anything.”

Yise had heard about their alliance, but seeing a Spirit Kin serving in the Grand Martial Path convinced him that further caution was unnecessary.

He recounted everything that had happened to him without concealing or embellishing anything.

“Ah! You’re the boy Sister Mong Ryeon recently took in! That’s right, I heard about you. Your name was... Yisip-se, wasn’t it?”

“It’s Yise.”

“Right! Right! That was it. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Gong Wol Ah. Sister Mong Ryeon and I are practically blood sisters. But why didn’t Yitae know? You write your affiliation on the application, don’t you?”

Gong Wol Ah.

Her name resembled Gonga’s.

Yise wondered whether the two were related.

He silently thought that the similar names used by the Spirit-Kin Race made them rather confusing.

Kang Yitae shrugged and showed them Yise’s application.

The section for affiliation was blank.

“If you are the disciple of Mong Ryeon, Chief of Spirit-Guarding Temple, then your identity is already reliable. Why didn’t you reveal it?”

“I wasn’t certain whether I was permitted to disclose information about the Spirit-Kin Race. I was also concerned that I might dishonor or bring harm to our clan. I don’t understand the demonic energy inside my body either, but... perhaps it resulted from living within the territory of the Spirit Kin for so long.”

The red-haired woman burst into laughter after hearing Yise’s explanation.

“Ahaha! Look at this! A human is calling the Spirit-Kin Race ‘our clan.’”

“It is rather presumptuous, but not impossible to understand. Personally, I like this sort of disposition.”

The man in tiger pelts, who had been listening silently, nodded in agreement.

Kang Yitae remained deep in thought for a moment before exchanging glances with the other Hall Masters.

“Then... since at least three Hall Masters have verified the circumstances, we will consider the issue of his identity resolved for now. Hall Master Hong Mihi, can you interpret the demonic energy within him?”

“Give me a moment. I’ll examine him more closely. Remain still, child.”

The red-haired woman, Hong Mihi, placed her hand against Yise’s chest.

Spiritual energy filled with searing heat circulated through his entire body.

“I can’t be entirely certain, but... yes. I believe it is the Heavenly-Demonic Dual-Meridian Physique.”

A strange light entered the faces of the other three Hall Masters at Hong Mihi’s words.

Yise desperately wanted to ask what she meant, but he refrained from interrupting the conversation among the senior figures and merely listened.

Noticing his curiosity, Hong Mihi smiled and explained.

“Simply put, it is a constitution that allows you to freely manipulate both spiritual and demonic energy. You won’t suffer a Heavenly Tribulation as the price for manipulating demonic energy, nor must you fear accumulating karma.”

“Could it be the Grand Martial Path Lord’s...?”

“That’s right. It is precisely the same constitution the Path Lord possessed. This is the first one to appear in three hundred years.”

At that moment, Yise noticed something simultaneously appearing in the eyes of all four people.

It was too pure to be called greed, yet too impure to be called curiosity.

Yise concluded that it was the desire to claim an exceptional talent.

“He opened his Spiritual Eyes while sitting here and immediately reached Meridian Awakening within the Energy Refinement Realm. His talent is also extraordinary...”

“If you join Gujin Hall, I will give you my full support.”

“Hall Master Ban Ho, attempting to entice an Energy Refinement cultivator with promises of preferential treatment violates the rules. Moreover, he hasn’t even passed the examination yet.”

Ban Ho frowned at Kang Yitae’s words.

“Entice him? I was merely trying to persuade him. You appear to covet him quite strongly yourself.”

“Not to that extent.”

“Really? Your eyes are practically gleaming with greed.”

“...Hall Master.”

“Then let us do this. We will keep it secret from the other Hall Masters.”

“That violates the rules. Besides, I doubt we could conceal it even if we tried.”

“You inflexible, rule-obsessed fool...”

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

Yise, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, raised his hand.

Given his circumstances, he had intended to remain silent whenever possible, but their conversation showed no sign of ending.

Since no one else remained nearby, the examination appeared to have already concluded.

Yise also had a daily routine and several rules he absolutely had to observe.

Fortunately, the Hall Masters seemed to view him favorably, so he felt he could speak more confidently.

“What is it?”

“I believe I awakened spiritual energy, but is it normal that it won’t move according to my will?”

“Yes. Learning to control it is the next realm you must attain.”

“Understood. My spiritual and demonic energies flow through separate locations, but... whenever they approach each other, they snarl as though preparing to fight. Is it safe to leave them like that?”

All four Hall Masters fell silent.

Hong Mihi appeared to possess the greatest knowledge in this field, so everyone looked at her.

“We don’t know.”

“Excuse me?”

“The Grand Martial Path Lord was the only other person known to possess this constitution. Moreover, the Grand Martial Path itself—no, the entire immortal-cultivation world—was reorganized into its present system approximately three hundred years ago. You should assume that almost no information about such an unusual constitution exists.”

“If I enter the Grand Martial Path, will I be able to meet the Path Lord?”

The Hall Masters exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

“How do you intend to meet someone who ascended to the celestial realm three hundred years ago? Shall we perform a spirit-summoning ritual?”

Yise could not understand what she meant.