Chapter 101 - Hellish Regular Exam, The 'Third' Gate (4)

Whenever the hellish standard exam begins, countless people gather at the Southern Peak.

The sparring tournament held at the Third Gate is a must-see spectacle at least once in a lifetime for those with no ties to Jianghu, and at the same time, it is one of the essential places for gossips who love to talk to stop by and find material for their drinking sessions.

Not only the people of Henan Province, but also those flocking from other provinces to watch the spectacle caused the Southern Peak to bustle with outsiders more than ever, yet the actual residents of the Southern Peak were indifferent to the sparring tournament.

"Are you not going to watch the sparring matches?"

"It's the same thing every time. Why bother going to watch? You should hurry up and get to work too. If not now, when else are we going to hit the jackpot?"

Since Henan Province is home to the Shaolin Sect, the Mount Tai and North Star of Murim, the Shaolin Sect usually takes the vast majority of the Third Gate's admission tokens.

The Wudang Sect from Hubei Province would often participate, but since the Shaolin Sect and the Wudang Sect never antagonized each other, the exam results of the Third Gate rarely ever changed significantly.

"Haven't you heard? There's a huge uproar right now."

"An uproar? Why? Are the Wudang Sect and Shaolin Sect going to fight or something?"

"Man! The Wudang Sect just lost to the Taiyi Sect."

"The Taiyi Sect? The Taiyi Sect of that fake legend, the Taiyi Sword Emperor?"

"Yeah!"

At the sudden unexpected turn of events, even those engaged in commerce at the Southern Peak began to close their shops one by one.

Because the fact that an absolute powerhouse of Jianghu Murim had been defeated was something that made even the hearts of those unrelated to Murim pound.

"Unbelievable!"

"Hyeonsu of the Wudang Sect lost?"

The astonishment of those who had watched the sparring match directly at the grand training ground of the Murim Alliance Southern Peak Branch was even greater.

In particular, the shock of the Shaolin Sect, the Wudang Sect's rival, was immense.

"... Senior Brother Ilmyeong's words were true."

"Indeed. I finally understand why you told us so many times not to spar with the Taiyi Sect."

Following Ilmyeong's words, the Shaolin Sect disciples taking the Murim Academy exam did not request sparring matches against the Taiyi Sect disciples.

They hadn't known the reason until now, but with Jin Sowoon's single move, they realized why Ilmyeong had warned them.

"But even so, Almsgiver Hyeonsu's response was somewhat baffling. How could Taiji fail to distinguish phantoms?"

"He didn't fail to distinguish them. He threw away the opportunity to distinguish them himself."

If he had concentrated and prepared from the beginning, he would have been able to block it sufficiently.

Although the phantoms and variables bewitched the eyes, the number of real strikes among them was not large. However, Hyeonsu had yielded three forms of his own accord, and furthermore, completely let go of his tension.

But it couldn't be helped.

Because no one could have expected the Taiyi Sect's phantom sword to be so utterly bizarre and profound.

GRIND.

Hyeonsu's face as he stepped down from the grand training ground was burning bright red.

Not only had he confidently declared that he would yield the first three forms, but flustered by the first form Jin Sowoon unleashed, he abandoned his defense and went on the offensive, only to be struck by the phantom strikes filling the air, pushed out of the grand training ground, and eliminated.

He had suffered utter humiliation in front of the people who had traveled a long way just to catch a glimpse of the Wudang Sect's hem.

Far from showing them the majesty of Wudang, he had smeared mud on the Wudang Sect's name. Experiencing such a shameful situation for the first time in his life, Hyeonsu had no idea how to pull himself together.

"..."

"..."

Even so, it was Hyeonsu who spoke first. If he didn't say something right now, he felt he would suffocate in this awkwardly flowing silence.

"... T-The variations in the phantom sword that guy uses are extraordinary."

"It's nothing... I-Is that so?"

Junior Brother Hyeongun, who had been about to say, *'It didn't look like much?' *, tightly shut his mouth at the jab of another junior brother's elbow to his ribs and simply nodded.

"Even so, the profound principle of the real strikes within it was very fierce."

"Yes... Y-Yes. It must be."

Somehow, the manner of his response showed an utterly untrusting attitude, but Hyeonsu couldn't point out his behavior.

After all, wasn't he the one who had already left his dignity as a senior brother up there on the grand training ground?

This time, it was the Taiyi Sect examinee's turn to step up.

A moment later, the Taiyi Sect's youngest, Lee Dongryong, stepped onto the grand training ground.

Because his short stature and the way he tightly hugged an adult-sized sword to his chest made him look exactly like a sword boy (a child who carries a sword for someone else), laughter burst out from here and there in the audience.

"Ahem, the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords will be good when facing the Taiyi Sect's phantom sword."

Hyeonjin, who was about to step onto the grand training ground, stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing Hyeonsu's words.

"The Divine Martial Thirteen Swords will be highly effective for dealing with the real swords hidden within the phantom swords thanks to its exceptionally fast speed."

"..."

Hyeonjin, who would have answered resoundingly under normal circumstances, stared blankly at Hyeonsu and Hyeonmyeong without a word.

And at the exchanging gazes, Hyeonsu's face burned bright red.

"... Senior Brother Hyeonsu's words seem to be right."

Hyeonmyeong quickly backed up Hyeonsu's words, but the redness on Hyeonsu's face showed no signs of fading.

The Divine Martial Thirteen Swords held a position close to a killing sword even within the Wudang Sect.

Unlike the Taiji Sword, which delved deeply into the profound principles of Yin and Yang in pursuit of enlightenment, it was a sword created in the direction of efficiently subduing and killing the opponent.

Naturally, it was a sword whose teachings were not even passed down to a child lacking enlightenment in the Taiji Sword.

The Divine Martial Thirteen Swords pursued extreme efficiency to the point where even highly experienced vagabond warriors in Jianghu would find it overwhelming to face.

To face the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords, one either needed an immense amount of experience with killing or had no choice but to use a sword technique more efficient than the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords, and there was absolutely no way the Taiyi Sect possessed such a sword technique.

'How pitiful.'

If he had faced the Taiji Sword, at the very least, he wouldn't have sustained a major injury. But to save Senior Brother Hyeonsu's face, he had no choice but to use the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords.

Now that the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords was drawn, heavy injuries for the Taiyi Sect's youngest, Dongryong, were a foregone conclusion. His two remaining brothers might have to live their whole lives nursing Dongryong.

"Ready..."

Whether he knew his future or not, the child whose height hadn't even fully grown took his starting posture.

It was the same starting posture that Jin Sowoon had unleashed.

"Begin!"

With the judge's voice, the two rushed toward each other.

Hyeonjin stepped with the Cloud-Ascending Steps and parried the fast sword unleashed on the first move.

The Taiyi Sect's sword possessed the profound principle of mixing fast swords and phantom swords.

It induced confusion by inserting variables within speed and phantoms. However, such bewitchment was no match for a faster and more efficient sword.

The moment he drew the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords, it outstripped the speed at which Dongryong swung his sword and slashed across Dongryong's chest.

They had only exchanged three moves, yet the sparring match was already over.

"!"

But at that moment,

"Hut!"

The trajectory of the fast sword that had come in as if to sever his wrist suddenly changed. He was trying to slash Dongryong's chest, but wasn't Dongryong thrusting straight for his neck?

'Is this why the speed of his fast sword wasn't that quick?'

He had thought it was slow for a fast sword, but this kind of profound principle had been hidden within.

Having no choice, he retracted the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords, opened up the distance, and was about to rush in again.

Afterimages of the sword bloomed from Dongryong's blade.

Swords filled with phantoms and variables, exactly like what Jin Sowoon had unleashed earlier.

Because Hyeonjin had his nerves sharply on edge, he could faintly distinguish the phantoms and variables and strike forward once more.

FLINCH.

Hyeonjin's footsteps stopped dead in their tracks.

It was undoubtedly a phantom sword, yet the vital point it was targeting was exquisite. A critical point that would touch a blood vessel and lead to death even with a slight graze.

Without realizing it, Hyeonjin instinctively reached out his left hand toward that phantom sword.

STAB.

"Urgh!"

"What is that? Why did he reach his hand out to the sword?"

"Is he crazy?"

Hyeonjin was shocked to see red blood spurting from his hand.

It had definitely been a phantom sword. But had it somehow become a real sword? No, had he disguised a real sword as a phantom sword from the very beginning?

As if proving this single move was no coincidence, Dongryong continued to unfold his sword forms with a calm face.

Several phantom swords materialized around him. And this time, all those phantom swords thrust toward Hyeonjin's vital points.

With a desperate heart, Hyeonjin stepped with the Cloud-Ascending Steps and escaped Dongryong's sword range.

"Waaaaaah!"

Suddenly, roars of cheers erupted from all directions.

A bewildered Hyeonjin only then realized that he had retreated a full ten steps against the Taiyi Sect's youngest disciple.

Furthermore, despite the massive cheers, Dongryong clung to him, staring tenaciously only at him.

Phantoms and variables ultimately meant bewitching the opponent to hide the real strike within.

That was why it was common sense for them to bloom even more flashily and complexly.

However, Dongryong's phantom sword was irrational. Even the phantom swords, which were mere illusions, aimed solely at the most dangerous vital points. And by hiding a real sword among those phantom swords, he sought to take his opponent's life.

'A phantom sword meant only for murder?'

Faced with such a bizarre sword technique he had never seen or heard of, he couldn't even fathom clashing with it again.

It felt as though he was engaging in an all-out battle with an assassin. And not just some random thug, but an assassin at the apex of the killing sword who had slaughtered thousands.

Using the Divine Martial Thirteen Swords against someone like that was something only an idiot would do. If he couldn't filter out the phantoms and variables immediately, he never knew when he might die, did he?

Hyeonjin instinctively glared at Hyeonsu as if to kill him.

Because that idiot had given useless advice, he was now on the verge of losing to a Taiyi Sect disciple himself.

If he had used their main sword technique, the Taiji Sword, from the start, there would have been no reason to be confused by phantom swords like this. The Taiyi Sect disciple's estimated internal energy was roughly ten years. Since he possessed four times that amount of internal energy, if he couldn't win, what other reason could there be?

As much as his hand was tangled up in Dongryong's sword, his mind was also tangling up in a complex mess.

As his mind started to become complicated, the phantom swords that had already been hard to distinguish now all began to look like real swords.

He drew up his internal energy to its absolute limit to strike away all those phantom swords, but the vast majority were mere illusions.

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

"Haha..."

"What is he doing right now?"

"It's almost like he's terrified of his opponent approaching and is just swinging his sword wildly."

Even though Hyeonjin was swinging his sword more desperately and expending more internal energy, the one retreating was Hyeonjin.

In contrast, the Taiyi Sect's Dongryong didn't seem to show much emotional change from when the sparring match first began.

That unwavering appearance made things even harder for Hyeonjin.

"This is ridiculous! How could a mere Taiyi Sect...!"

"..."

At that moment, a red light flashed in Dongryong's eyes.

Experiencing a sticky killing intent for the first time in his life, his entire body stopped dead.

Then, Dongryong dug into Hyeonjin's embrace.

"Don't insult my sect."

With the sound ringing in his ears, Hyeonjin's world started to spin round and round.

THUD.

Coming to his senses along with a shock that battered his whole body, he found himself lying on the ground. The sword that should have been in his hand had fallen far away, and just below his neck, a sharply raised blade loomed, looking ready to pierce his throat at any moment.

"... Halt! Halt! The winner is Lee Dongryong of the Taiyi Sect!"

At a result no one, let alone Hyeonsu, had anticipated, roars of cheers erupted from all directions.

"Waaaaaaah!"

Hugging the sword that was larger than his own body tightly to his chest once again, Dongryong, with his murderous appearance from moments ago nowhere to be found, bowed in all directions with an innocent face and stepped down from the grand training ground.

* * *

The people in the audience couldn't hide their excitement at the unexpected result.

This was already the second one. Disciples of the Wudang Sect, often compared to dragons, had suffered consecutive defeats to a disciple of a seemingly insignificant sect.

"See! What did I tell you!"

"It's real. The Wudang Sect! *That* Wudang Sect!"

"Were the rumors about the Taiyi Sword Emperor actually true?"

The spectators, who had densely packed the audience seats before they knew it, cheered wildly while simultaneously failing to suppress their shock.

The other sects watching the scene alongside them felt the same.

On the other hand, there were those who were inwardly sighing in relief. The thought that the Taiyi Sect was the easiest opponent had taken root, so there were those who had believed that whoever caught them first would hit the jackpot. They sighed in relief, grateful that the Wudang Sect had snatched the Taiyi Sect from them.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Of course, the place that received the biggest shock was none other than the Wudang Sect.

Hyeonjin, stepping down from the sparring match, kept his head bowed and refused to make eye contact with anyone.

In particular, whenever Hyeonsu tried to say something, he glared at him as if he were going to kill him.

"..."

Because of this, Hyeonsu couldn't say words of comfort to Hyeonjin or even formulate a new strategy.

He knew what he had done wrong. The Taiyi Sect's phantom sword was more meticulous than expected.

While the phantom sword Jin Sowoon had unleashed was merely a decoration, the phantom sword Dongryong had unleashed was more efficient than most fast swords.

In the end, a sparring match they could have easily won if they had faced it with the Taiji Sword from the start and crushed it with internal energy had ended in defeat because he had steered it in a pointless direction.

"... The Taiyi Sect's phantom sword often hides real swords within it. Therefore, I believe the most important thing is to stay calm and use your own sword without being bewitched."

These were the words Hyeonjin said to Hyeonhyang, who was about to step onto the training ground next.

Because Hyeonhyang had also watched the previous sparring match, he was well aware of that fact.

As Hyeonhyang stepped up, Eunho stepped forward from the Taiyi Sect.

Hyeonsu stealthily approached Hyeonjin, intending to offer a word of apology.

"...!"

But didn't Hyeonjin suddenly jump up and distance himself five steps away from Hyeonsu?

Hyeonsu's face crumpled like a piece of paper.

* * *

Roars of cheers echoed from all directions.

As if the sparring match was thrilling to them, the crowd sent even louder cheers the moment he stepped onto the grand training ground.

Where am I?

Who am I?

Undoubtedly, in the mind of Eunho—the mastermind behind the 'Operation: Send Our Reckless Eldest Senior Brother to Murim Academy!'—there was never any scenario where he himself would have to step onto the sparring stage at the Third Gate.

Barely over ten years' worth of internal energy.

He had recently consumed the spiritual elixir his Eldest Senior Brother had acquired, raising it to just over fifteen years, but he didn't think he could pass the Third Gate with that.

Those advancing to the Third Gate were already individuals with monstrous skills for their age.

Furthermore, if one were to pick the greatest monsters among those monsters, it would be the Shaolin Sect and the Wudang Sect, and one of those two was his current opponent.

From the perspective of Eunho, who possessed the smartest brain among the three brothers, this was an unwinnable sparring match.

When he turned his head to look at where the Taiyi Sect party was, his Eldest Senior Brother casually gave him a thumbs up.

Of course, since Eldest Senior Brother is a weirdo, he could win.

Standing next to him, Dongryong gave a thumbs up.

Of course, if it's Dongryong who can awaken and control his Heavenly Slaughter Star, he could win.

Next to him, Geumpyo gave a thumbs up with an expression full of tension.

Hyung, you put that finger down.

'What on earth is he thinking?'

Last night.

As soon as their opponents were decided, his Eldest Senior Brother dragged Brother Geumpyo and him away and began cramming.

"From now on, you two will learn three forms. As long as you practice these like your life depends on it, you will definitely win tomorrow's sparring matches."

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

At first, he tilted his head, wondering what it was.

It was exactly the Taiji Sword.

"This is the Wudang Sect's main sword technique, the Taiji Sword. And you guys are going to practice three Destruction Forms that can crush this Taiji Sword like your life depends on it."

"..."

He had no idea when he had managed to learn the Taiji Sword, but the three forms he unfolded right after made Eunho's eyes widen.

"Uh... So. That..."

"You've watched it roughly, so you get it, right?"

Demonstrating, his Eldest Senior Brother slowly unfolded the Taiji Sword. Following his rhythm, Eunho tried imitating the Destruction Form he had seen exactly as it was.

And then.

CLANG.

The Black Dragon Sword bounced off as if it would fall from his Eldest Senior Brother's hand.

"... Hah."

"See?"

"What on earth is this..."

"Questions for later. You two will stay up all night tonight and master all three of these forms."

Brother Geumpyo raised his hand.

"Is Dongryong not learning them?"

"Dongryong doesn't need to learn them. The opponent will fall for it that way."

Eunho couldn't tell what kind of scheme his Eldest Senior Brother was brewing this time, but Brother Geumpyo nodded and took his stance.

That's not what's important right now, Hyung. You need to ask the really important question.

"Eldest Senior Brother, what if we learn these three forms, but the Wudang Sect doesn't use the Taiji Sword?"

"Ah, you don't have to worry about that. After they experience me and Dongryong, I'll make it so they have no choice but to use it unconditionally."

"... Are you talking about that whole 'if you believe, it will come true' thing?"

He shouldn't have asked that last question.

Thanks to that, hadn't his Eldest Senior Brother spanked him several times with the flat of the Black Dragon Sword's blade while they were both practicing the forms?

He stayed up all night without sleeping a wink to master the three forms.

It was no secret that he found Jin Sowoon, who had dealt with both Brother Geumpyo and him simultaneously during that time, newly amazing.

Regardless, if the three forms he had stayed up all night practicing ended up being useless, Eunho planned to forfeit as soon as he stepped onto the sparring stage.

If he got injured now, he wouldn't be able to join his Eldest Senior Brother's grand journey.

However,

"Wow... This actually worked."

Hyeonhyang of the Wudang Sect took the starting posture of the Taiji Sword.

"It really does come true if you believe."

It was to the point where he was slowly starting to worry that he might fall into a cult-like devotion to his Eldest Senior Brother.

Eunho prepared the starting posture of the Twin Heaven Sword Art, waiting to use the three forms he had stayed up all night to master.