Chapter 13 - Act 3. Daemudo Entrance Examination (6)

“Our turn should be coming up soon.”

The test was already drawing to a close.

“So, are you ever going to tell me what happened yesterday?”

“It was nothing.”

“Hmm.”

“Apparently, I have a somewhat unusual constitution. You do too, right? A Heavenly Root Constitution?”

“I knew there was something extraordinary about you.”

That was as far as the conversation went. Hae Unchan was not one to pry, and Yise was not one to explain every last detail. Unchan merely added, sounding intrigued, that they should have a spar sometime to test things out.

Another bout ended.

Growing bored, Yise began warming up with bodyweight exercises. He stood on one hand and repeatedly bent and straightened his arm. Hae Unchan remarked on the interesting position and followed suit.

They drew plenty of disapproving stares, but neither cared.

“That person failed even though he has a spiritual root. He applied last year, too.”

“Really? You have a good memory. But he's sluggish, and his combat instincts are terrible. Become a Cultivator like that, and you're just Demon food.”

“Is it all right to fail someone after going to the trouble of making him a spiritual root?”

“Well, he can try again next year, or become an independent Cultivator... Or join a smaller Cultivation sect or family. Plenty of people do that. Most independent Cultivators and those in smaller organizations failed to get into Daemudo. Natural spiritual roots are incredibly rare.”

Unchan's words brought home to Yise once again just how precious Daemudo's Divine Beast was.

Another applicant failed. Yise switched the hand supporting him on the floor and murmured,

“More people are failing than I expected. The fighting is brutal, but the standards themselves seem pretty easy.”

“Really? They seem about right to me.”

“Why are they getting so worked up for no reason?”

“Because passing isn't what matters. What really matters is making the top five. There's bound to be competition.”

“Top five? Are there benefits?”

“You didn't see the notice? The top five get a standard-issue ritual implement made by Hall Master Hong Mihui. Her implements are so famous they're called Hong's Precious Treasures. Even the standard-issue ones must be incredibly powerful.”

Unchan's words brought the red-haired woman to mind: Vermilion Bird Hall Master Hong Mihui, whose realm Yise had been unable even to gauge. Her question about where they thought all their ritual implements came from echoed in his head.

“And the first- and second-place finishers each get a full day of personal instruction from a Hall Master-level great Core Formation Cultivator. Now that's an incredible privilege!”

“A Hall Master... Any of the eleven?”

“Anyone.”

A sudden gleam came into Yise's eyes.

He could seek instruction directly from Azure Dragon Hall Master Hae Il—the great Core Formation Cultivator thought to be the only one who knew about his constitution, but who was supposedly far too busy to spare a thought for a mere Qi Refining Cultivator.

After yesterday, he had lost some enthusiasm, thinking he would probably pass without much trouble. This changed things.

Yise looked at Unchan.

“Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”

This fellow was probably his greatest obstacle and rival.

Sorry, but he would have to take first place from him.

“Next. Yise. Choho. Yun San. ... Those thirteen, step forward.”

His name was called just then.

HOO.

As the applicants around him took deep breaths to calm their nerves, Yise alone surveyed his competitors calmly. Regardless of sex, every one of them had a solidly trained body. The time and effort they had devoted to entering Daemudo were plain to see.

Of course, the quantity and quality of effort varied even over the same span of time, and the balance of strength inevitably tipped to one side.

“Begin.”

The instant the test began, Yise used the distinctive footwork of Dokkaebi Steps to close in on a nearby applicant. The boy gasped at the enemy who had suddenly appeared before him.

Yise immediately thrust out his left hand as though to strike. The boy reflexively raised both arms to block.

But Yise had chosen to deflect, not strike. He swept the arms aside in an instant, creating an opening, then smashed his elbow into his opponent's jaw.

CRACK!

With a dull impact, the boy collapsed without even a scream.

Already moving toward his next prey, Yise drove the sole of his foot at another applicant's face. It filled the applicant's vision in an instant, followed by a flash of stars.

He seemed to appear and disappear at will.

The signal to begin had sounded only moments ago, yet by the time anyone grasped what was happening, half the applicants were already down or had been knocked out of the formation.

The six remaining applicants exchanged glances. Fear showed on their faces: at this rate, that one boy might defeat them helplessly, without their getting a chance to fight back.

Naturally, they all charged him at once. Whenever someone had shown exceptional strength in the earlier bouts, the others had ganged up on them too.

Their only misfortune was that the target of their combined attack possessed an insanely powerful, rigorously trained physique. He could hold his own in hand-to-hand combat against three Dokkaebi boys, and even withstand a mid-grade Demon at Middle Stage Qi Refining with his bare body.

A hulking boy rose into the air in Yise's grip. Yise swung him like a log into the charging applicants.

Spiritual power was supposed to be forbidden, yet it was hard to believe such physical strength could come from an unaided body.

'What kind of strength—'

He looked solidly built, but even so, his strength defied comprehension.

Only the examiners realized that he had honed the art of borrowing force to its limit, turning the other applicants' strength against them and amplifying his own to the utmost.

Before long, Yise stood alone within the formation.

Kang Itae frowned. This was not a test of victory or defeat. It was meant to assess fighting spirit and a feel for using one's body. A fight this one-sided left him no opportunity to grade anyone.

With a faint sigh, he took an exceptional measure.

“Everyone except the one still standing will retake the test. Collect yourselves and return to the formation.”

A stunned silence settled over the applicants.

* * *

“That concludes the test. Those who failed, gather your belongings and leave the mountain.”

A total of 120 applicants passed the third test, eliminating another forty-nine.

Yise once again thought the standards were generous, but apparently some found the results difficult to accept.

One applicant who looked nearly of age challenged an examiner.

“I have a triple spiritual root. That person over there has a five-attribute spiritual root. You pass someone with a worthless mixed root like that and fail me...! Are you certain you won't regret this?”

Several other failed applicants quietly moved behind him in agreement. None of them accepted the results.

Noticing the group, Unchan murmured to Yise,

“This must have been their last year to take the exam.”

“You mean they're nineteen?”

Yise's head tilted in puzzlement. With every applicant having worked hard at hand-to-hand combat, standing out might be difficult, but this was not a test hard enough to fail four times.

That meant they either had no aptitude whatsoever for physical combat or lacked even the will to make an effort.

Yet the applicant kept shouting and behaving rudely. The examiner before them was a Cultivator whose realm was impossible even to gauge. What reckless bravado was this?

Hearing the commotion, Kang Itae slowly approached. His appearance took some of the wind out of the applicant's sails.

Still, having failed at his final chance in life, the man seemed unwilling to back down.

“Please... judge me by my potential... as a Cultivator.”

“The result will not change. Leave.”

“Is Daemudo not a Cultivation sect? How can a Cultivator be judged by something like barehanded fighting rather than talent or constitution? Is that Daemudo's way?”

“Insult this sect, and I will sever the tendons in your limbs and cut apart your spiritual meridians.”

The warning was flat and utterly emotionless. His hands trembling, the man backed down and pleaded.

“I don't understand why I have to fail like this. The reason... I at least want to know the reason, Senior. If I could only use spiritual energy, I could subdue vermin like them in an instant...!”

He was trembling from head to toe like a leaf, yet still said everything he wanted to say. Yise was thinking that his nerve, at least, deserved some credit when Kang Itae continued.

“Our sect is founded on body-refining methods (*methods for tempering the body). In battle against Demons, there will inevitably be times when your spiritual energy is restricted, or when you must fight with your body alone after exhausting all your spiritual energy. Mastery of your body is therefore the most important aptitude, and the first you must possess. A triple spiritual root is quite respectable. Seek another Cultivation sect.”

“... You will regret this.”

“It seems you've taken me lightly.”

“...”

“Had you encountered me anywhere else, rather than as examiner and applicant, you would probably already have lost both eyes and all four limbs. Be grateful for this sect's mercy.”

Apparently realizing he had gone too far, the man began inching backward.

As Kang Itae had said, the difference in Rank was such that, had they met outside, the man could have had his limbs torn off the instant they met without managing so much as a scream.

The pressure of the spiritual energy seeping from Kang Itae forced him to face reality.

“Still, you must pay for letting your tongue run wild. Consider this a lesson from your senior.”

Kang Itae raised his index finger before his face. With a slight beckoning motion, he made the man's tongue jut out as though it were about to be torn free.

“Mmph, mmph!”

CRUNCH.

The next instant, a scarlet lump of flesh tore free and fell to the floor.

A scream followed. The man rolled across the ground.

“Remove him.”

“Yes.”

Kang Itae turned away without the slightest hesitation, leaving the examiners to drag away the convulsing applicant as he vomited what looked like a whole bowlful of blood.

The failed applicants who had lined up behind him had already vanished without a trace.

No one dared condemn Kang Itae's brutality.

* * *

“Didn't you say you'd wait before eating?”

“Ah! You scared me. Make some noise when you walk.”

“Oh. Sorry. It's a habit.”

Concealing one's presence while walking was another feature of Dokkaebi Steps. It was what had allowed Yise to sneak up on the Wailing Dragon Demon—a skill he had learned from his master through bitter, grueling effort. Now that it had become second nature, he had no way to stop using it.

“Want to train in hand-to-hand combat after we eat?”

Yise posed the question to Unchan as he scooped up a spoonful from his mountain of white rice.

Judging by his performance in the test earlier, Unchan had trained his body every bit as intensely as Yise had. Honestly, Yise could not be sure which of them would win.

“You mean spar? Sorry. I'm still not good at controlling spiritual energy, so I might hurt you if we fought seriously.”

Unchan declined without thinking anything of it, then suddenly realized his mistake and glanced at Yise.

The boys in his family were usually hot-blooded and brimming with pride. A remark like that would send them into a furious uproar.