Chapter 15 :

Chapter 15

Act Three: The Grand Martial Path Entrance Examination (8)

The examination for those specializing as shamans had three categories.

One talisman, one small puppet, and one straw effigy.

They had to produce and submit at least one of the three.

Yise stared intently at the samples and began by drawing a talisman.

Unexpectedly, the atmosphere in the examination hall was relatively relaxed.

Applicants were not specifically stopped from exchanging opinions or receiving help.

The examiner merely inspected their completed products and assigned scores on the spot.

‘They said that changing even a single stroke, line, or dot on a talisman would render it ineffective.’

Yise devoted himself wholeheartedly to completing his first talisman.

Since he had drawn it without feeling pressured, it seemed reasonably well-made compared to those of the other applicants, whose hands were trembling.

After comparing it to Seol Ryeong’s talisman, he looked satisfied, prompting her to give him a sidelong look.

“What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is your first talisman, but you barely made any mistakes.”

“I’ve always been fairly good at writing and drawing.”

“...You’re good with your hands. Well, you still wouldn’t be able to do that in a real situation.”

“I wasn’t planning to waste valuable resources on it anyway.”

In truth, this was nothing more than an ordinary scrap of paper.

A talisman would only become effective if it was made with a brush crafted from a spirit beast’s hair and talisman paper produced from a spiritual object, while the talisman master accurately infused it with spiritual energy during its creation.

It was said that even a reasonably prosperous sect found it difficult to train a single talisman master, so Yise had no intention of studying it professionally.

Yise moved on to the next category.

The samples of the straw effigy, commonly called a curse doll, and the puppet, which functioned as a combat marionette, were also easier to replicate than expected.

Seol Ryeong prattled mischievously beside him, saying they were merely the most basic creations.

When she became too noisy and he moved elsewhere, Seol Ryeong pouted and followed close behind him.

At last, the examination results were announced.

“Nine, eight, and nine. Twenty-six points in total.”

“Thank you.”

His score was one point lower than Seol Ryeong’s.

Even so, it was better than he had expected, so he was satisfied.

Perhaps he had some talent for it.

“Y-You... Were you specializing as a shaman?”

“No. I’m specializing as a Demon Vanguard.”

“Then why? I can understand you replicating the talisman or straw effigy, but puppetry isn’t a field where you can create something without prior practice!”

Yise patted her trembling shoulders and consoled her.

“I only made the outer shell. Don’t get so worked up.”

“It still doesn’t make sense!”

“If you scored only one point higher than someone making them for the first time, doesn’t that simply mean you haven’t trained enough? Or perhaps you lack talent. There’s still time, so try the Healer examination hall. You should find another talent before it’s too late.”

“.......”

Seol Ryeong froze where she stood like a stone statue waiting eternally for someone who would never return.

After comforting her with his sincere advice, Yise headed toward the next examination hall.

The Shadow Master examination required applicants to activate a formation, repair a mechanism, or submit something employing the principles of Qimen Dunjia.

The field apparently required more foundational knowledge than he had expected, and he received a poor average score of five points.

Considering that no one else had even been present in the examination hall, perhaps that was not so bad.

Thanks to that, he was able to inspect, dismantle, analyze, and thoroughly enjoy the mechanisms, formations, and Qimen Dunjia to his heart’s content.

“In all my years, you’re the first person I’ve seen use an examination hall as a training room.”

“It was a valuable experience.”

“Indeed. Your talent isn’t bad for someone who has never received formal training. If you haven’t chosen another specialization, consider this one as well.”

“Yes.”

Yise answered obediently.

***

That evening, Seol Ryeong brought their new team member.

“I carefully chose him after personally divining the fortunes of every candidate, so you can trust me!”

“I’m Pi Garam.”

The boy who introduced himself as Pi Garam gave off a peculiar impression.

His neck-length hair was pulled back and tied behind his head, while his subdued gaze and the dark circles beneath his eyes made him appear haggard.

“That’s an unusual name. What’s your specialty?”

“I can create a simple confinement formation.”

Upon hearing that, Hae Unchan clapped his hands.

“Wow, applicants who have learned formations are extremely rare. You really brought us a good one!”

At Hae Unchan’s compliment, Seol Ryeong cleared her throat proudly and placed both hands on her hips.

“Apparently, his cultivation realm is the First Star of the Energy Refinement Realm.”

The First Star of the Energy Refinement Realm was a stage at which one could not yet properly control spiritual energy.

His formation probably borrowed the power of a ritual implement.

Hae Unchan and Seol Ryeong were at the Second Star of the Energy Refinement Realm.

Yise and Pi Garam were at the First Star of the Energy Refinement Realm.

In truth, their overall strength was roughly equal.

Until the middle stage of the Energy Refinement Realm, when they could properly manifest powers befitting cultivators, there was no significant difference between them.

Their fighting strength had merely become unmistakably superior to that of ordinary mortals.

The four of them briefly discussed their specialties, equipment, and other notable characteristics.

Hae Unchan primarily used striking and kicking techniques and swordsmanship, and he possessed no other ritual implements or special abilities.

Yise likewise revealed that he fought using striking and kicking techniques, a small axe, and a shield, but he deliberately refrained from mentioning his other special abilities or ritual implements.

Seol Ryeong said she had trained in basic spells for exorcising low-ranking malevolent spirits and in combat using several types of ritual implements.

Numerous ritual implements hung beneath her generously sized Daoist robe.

Pi Garam said that he had primarily trained in archery and formations.

He appeared to be hiding something, but they did not bother questioning him.

Most ritual implements used by cultivators in the early Energy Refinement Realm were disposable or consumable objects with a limited number of uses.

That was understandable.

Rather than being operated through spiritual energy controlled directly by the cultivator, they consumed spiritual energy infused into them during the manufacturing process.

“Most of Seol Ryeong’s ritual implements can be used around three to five times... Pi Garam, how many times can you use your formation?”

“There is no limit to the number of times. However, I have to draw the formation personally, so I need time to prepare it.”

“How long?”

“Half a quarter.”

“...That’s awkward.”

It was just enough time for someone trying to stall during a battle to die screaming.

Most ritual implements used at their level were like this.

They were either incomplete, or they were expensive despite being usable only a few times.

Still, if they helped one pass the examination and saved one’s life in a real battle, there was no reason not to use them.

After they had spent a long time introducing themselves, Seol Ryeong asked,

“What about our strategy? Aren’t we going to make one?”

“Since we don’t know what we’ll be facing, I doubt a detailed strategy would mean much. For now, let’s decide our positions based on our equipment. Is everyone fine with me taking command during tomorrow’s battle?”

At Yise’s words, the other three nodded as though they had no objections.

Even if they called it command, it did not seem as though there would be much for the commander to do.

Seol Ryeong, who inexplicably seemed to know far more about the examination than Hae Unchan—as though she had already taken it once—gave them one final warning.

“Be careful. Let’s all pass without getting hurt. There are three examinations left, but excluding the written examination, there are effectively only two. Most injuries during the Grand Martial Path examination occur in those two.”

Seol Ryeong continued,

“If the examinations until now were meant to confirm that we met the minimum requirements, the remaining ones will reveal which cultivators might lead the Grand Martial Path’s next generation.”

“As expected of a noble daughter. You know a great deal. Impressive.”

At Yise’s casual compliment, Seol Ryeong twirled her hair around one finger and puffed herself up, muttering, “This is nothing.”

No matter how he looked at her, he suspected that she had lied about her age.

‘Move.’

On the morning of the fifth day, Yise settled atop a scenic, strangely shaped rock to practice controlling his spiritual energy and demonic energy.

After awakening to spiritual energy, he had reduced his morning physical training to a minimum.

He had concluded that, after becoming a cultivator, his physical conditioning had already reached the limit that could be achieved at his current level.

He had stepped into the realm of the superhuman.

He was convinced that excessive physical training would be inefficient from this point onward.

There might still be room to increase the size of his muscles, but his agility would decrease in inverse proportion.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to acknowledge that his current body was in its most balanced state.

‘I’ll limit physical training to maintaining my optimal condition.’

He invested the rest of his time in trying to gather and control the energies within his body.

It stubbornly refused to go as he wished.

‘I should definitely be able to reach the Second Star even without learning a cultivation method.’

As a rule, the Grand Martial Path prohibited applicants from practicing other cultivation methods before formally entering.

They said this was intended to prevent applicants from being unable to properly learn the Demon-Extermination and Spirit-Purification Cultivation Method due to their spiritual roots becoming contaminated, even slightly, because of that cultivation method’s highly unusual nature.

In other words, none of the applicants had learned a cultivation method.

Nevertheless, some had reached the Second Star of the Energy Refinement Realm.

Hae Unchan and Seol Ryeong were examples.

That proved it was possible to reach that realm through natural enlightenment alone, without a cultivation method.

‘Could I really lack talent...?’

As he felt the spiritual energy flowing immovably despite all his effort and the demonic energy rampaging uncontrollably, the thought naturally arose.

Of course, Yise did not know the truth.

Those who had already reached the Second Star might not have learned cultivation methods, but they were children of powerful families who had received support from countless assistants and considerable investments from their clans.

“We will now begin the fifth examination.”

By now, Yise had grown accustomed to the examination grounds.

Five hectic days had passed.

The number of applicants, which had once approached two thousand, had fallen until they could now be roughly counted at a glance.

Over those five days, many applicants seemed to have awakened their spiritual roots.

Uncontrolled spiritual energy shimmered like heat haze around the applicants gathered in the martial training ground, as if they were deliberately flaunting it.

It was likely because they had eaten and slept well in a place overflowing with mystical energy.

Yise himself felt as though his body had been completely transformed in just five days.

“The fifth examination is the team examination. Those who failed to form teams beforehand have been assigned teammates at random.”

The examination was held in the central martial training ground.

As with the third examination, an enormous pattern had been drawn in its center.

“Each team will face and kill one randomly summoned demon. Use any means necessary. Once the demon has been killed, everyone still alive inside the examination ground will pass. If you believe you cannot succeed, declare your surrender. Unless you kill the demon or surrender, the examination will not end, even if someone dies.”

Death.

Given Kang Yitae’s personality, which did not allow for intentional exaggeration, applicants must have died while taking this examination before.

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing echoed through the grounds.

“There is only one thing you must remember. Do not die before you can declare your surrender. We cannot bring the dead back to life.”

After that brief explanation, Kang Yitae called the first team.

Every member of the team wore an expression as if they had bitten into an insect.

It was a team composed entirely of applicants who had yet to awaken their spiritual roots.

In other words, none of them had been chosen by anyone, so they had been forcibly assigned to one another.

A fourteen-sided ritual-bell die, marked with the numbers one through fourteen, spun rapidly.

The resulting number was one.

Kang Yitae took a small blade from inside his clothes and slashed through empty space.

Something astonishing happened the next moment.

Empty space tore apart like a sheet of paper.

Kang Yitae thrust his hand through the opening and pulled out a bound demon.

A genuine demon.

It was not Haechi transforming or creating an illusion, but a real, living demon struggling against its restraints.

Yise turned to Hae Unchan and asked,

“What exactly is that?”

Hae Unchan shrugged, indicating that he did not know either, so Seol Ryeong answered in his place.

“That’s a spirit treasure called the Demon-Storing Jade. Hall Master Kang Yitae is known to capture low-ranking demons alive, imprison them inside it, and use them for examinations.”

Yise quietly marveled.

Despite having studied an enormous number of books, there were still countless things he did not know.