Chapter 103 - The Hellish Great Journey (2)

When the Minor Orthodox Unit's Jwa Daegi was in Beijing.

That is, when he went to Beijing following his young master as a slave of the Nanjing Yukga Manor, he said he once saw high-ranking officials hunting.

First, hunters capture wild deer.

Since deer raised on a farm are familiar with humans, they stand still in place, so there's no taste in hunting them, he said.

They starve the captured deer until the hunting competition begins. Because if they are too energetic, it's hard to hunt them.

I thought they were doing all sorts of bullshit.

He said the deer would lose their energy and at the same time reach a state where they'd lose their minds over just a few grains of food.

They release those deer and start the hunting competition.

Generally, the stags or the alpha deer are caught first.

Not because they are the leaders and stand in front of the other deer.

It's because alpha deer generally have flashy antlers, which make them easy to spot, and they weigh more than other deer, so they can't run as fast.

It was a remark made to mock the Murim Alliance's elite warriors when they went out to the Orthodox-Demonic Great War dressed flashily, but it wasn't much comfort to the Minor Orthodox Unit, who were wearing rags.

The reason that story suddenly comes to mind right now is because the stags in this deer hunt are none other than us.

Normally, those who pass the Third Gate gather in small groups to form a massive collective before starting the grand journey.

Compared to the previous gate where the Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Noble Clans, and even the examinees of the 108 Peaks fought fiercely, in the grand journey where they only need to reach the Murim Academy, there is no reason not to cooperate among those whose admission is guaranteed rather than fighting each other.

Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran met a few of those who passed the Third Gate to try negotiating.

"What? Do what?"

"C-Cooperation?"

"Pahaha, Lady Namgung. I never imagined you'd become such a funny person in the time we haven't seen each other."

"I'm not joking..."

"Hahahaha. I'll treat you once the exam is over. Hahahahat."

No one agreed.

Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran couldn't wrap their heads around the reality that those who normally would have used all kinds of methods just to say a single word to them were now running away wildly as if looking at someone with the plague.

Originally, the number of warriors Namgung Seonhwa and Seong Moran possessed had dwindled to about twenty percent.

Setting aside interactions between sects, no one would want to take on a burden in the middle of taking an important exam.

In this situation, the Moyong Noble Clan joining them was at least somewhat fortunate.

"But we are the ones actually preparing for an ambush?"

"An ambush carried out when it's least expected has the highest success rate."

Namgung Seonhwa let out a small sigh.

After leaving the Southern Peak, we ran with all our might and passed Puyang in three days.

At first, the people who were startled by our speed hurriedly chased after us, but they couldn't keep up with us running without stopping even at night, so by the time a day had passed, we completely shook off all the pursuers who started from the Southern Peak.

Afterward, there were quite a few ambushers who heard the news halfway and waited, but our march, equipped with even more formidable offensive power due to the addition of the Moyong Noble Clan's warriors, showed no signs of stopping.

However, the Moyong Noble Clan's warriors, who couldn't adapt to the all-night operation, kept collapsing one by one, and having no other choice, the ones who used the steel carriage for the first time were the Moyong Noble Clan's warriors.

"Is it here?"

"Yes."

"... Just as Young Master Jin said, it's an incredibly good place to launch an ambush."

Mount Geumdan was located along the river between Hwal County and Bonggu County.

The terrain wasn't high, and since it was a place where many reservoirs for farming had been formed since ancient times, an official road ran through it.

Because it was the fastest path to head to Hubei Province via Zhengzhou, it was a place that not only we, but the other examinees as well, would inevitably use.

"But the terrain is too low. At this rate, anyone who has learned decent martial arts would be able to scale the walls easily."

This was exactly the reason why no bandit stronghold had been established here despite having a terrain suitable for ambushes.

"You don't have to worry about that. I once caught some terrifying bastards here that the Wudang Sect couldn't even compare to."

No matter how outstanding the geniuses of the Wudang Sect were, they couldn't compare to the Blood Demon Ghost Sword Squad.

* * *

["Due to your mistaken judgment, you have even impacted the disciples' exams, so you must resolve this yourself. ... If you fail to resolve it, you will have to spend the rest of your life cleaning the archive."]

The message from the main sect delivered by the Wudang Sect's Zhengzhou Pavilion Master was as severe as could be.

'Damn it...'

Hyeonsu gritted his teeth.

Setting aside his and Hyeonjin's defeats, it was true that he had forced incorrect advice on Hyeonjin because he was out of his mind after losing to Jin Sowoon.

However, wasn't it true that the defeats of Hyeonhyang, who fought Eunho, and Hyeonmyeong, who fought Geumpyo, weren't his fault?

But his damn junior brothers pinned the cause of this incident on him, and because of this, one wrong move and Hyeonsu might have to spend his entire life in the archive.

"The Admission Tokens stolen by the Taiyi Sect will be taken back from the Taiyi Sect."

Taegun, whose admission was guaranteed by acquiring a Third Gate admission token, departed for Hubei Province along with the other Wudang disciples.

The remaining Hyeonsu and his junior brothers waited for the moment the Taiyi Sect left the Southern Peak.

"We will finish this before reaching Cheongpung County and join the procession in Hubei Province."

"... Yes."

"... Understood."

The replies he got were far from enthusiastic. They still had a gaze that suspected everything he said.

"If you're so dissatisfied, you bastards come up with a plan!"

"... We didn't say anything."

Even if they got the admission tokens back from the Taiyi Sect, taking on the grand journey with just four people could result in them never reaching the Murim Academy.

They absolutely had to catch them before they passed Cheongpung County.

"... Senior Brother, their speed is too fast."

However, the Taiyi Sect group started running with all their might as soon as they left the Southern Peak.

"Provoke a battle! They will have no choice but to stop eventually."

They tried sending a few fleet-footed warriors to provoke a battle, but whether they did or not, those bastards just ignorantly sped up.

Furthermore, there was one thing Hyeonsu had overlooked: the enemy numbered a little over a hundred, while they numbered nearly four hundred.

Naturally, the length of their procession grew long, and at this rate, there was a risk of being ambushed before they could catch the Taiyi Sect.

"Damn it, reorganize the procession. Send an advance party so that we don't lose those bastards."

Those guys are human too. Even if they run at full power, they'll have to stop at some point. As long as the advance party doesn't stop them, we can hunt those bastards whenever.

"Senior Brother, those bastards aren't resting."

"It's already almost the Hour of the Dog."

"Just what are they thinking?"

The march that started in the morning didn't stop even as the sun set and the moon rose. Not only those bastards, but the personnel of the Wudang Sect were also gradually growing exhausted because they hadn't eaten a single meal.

"Stop for now and do a brief reorganization. Since those bastards are human too, they will have to sleep. Send an additional advance party so we don't miss that moment."

However, Hyeonsu's expectation missed the mark this time as well.

Those bastards continued moving without sleeping.

"These crazy bastards... Fine, let's see who wins."

Eventually reaching this situation, Hyeonsu was filled with spite.

Instead of sleep, he gave them 2 hours to perform qi circulation and continued the pursuit.

In terms of internal energy, the Wudang personnel were beyond compare to the Taiyi Sect group.

If they were thinking of a battle of attrition, the ones who would inevitably win were the Wudang themselves.

Sure enough. News finally arrived that those bastards had stopped.

"They reported witnessing some of their personnel entering a valley at Mount Geumdan."

"Is that so?"

They split their personnel in half, pretending to keep moving while the other half slows down the pursuit through an ambush.

It was a basic tactical strategy and a truly excellent method for a small number of people to face a large number, but their opponent was bad.

"They're looking down on our Wudang."

The advance party reported that because there was a path through the center of the mountain valley, it was true that the terrain was advantageous for an ambush, but it wasn't to the extent of being a problem for martial artists.

"How far is the gap with the advance party?"

"They are half a day away."

Had they already fallen that far behind? It was hard to believe that the gap had widened this much when they had only been running together continuously for barely three days.

"Senior Brother Hyeonsu, we need time to recover our fatigue before fighting."

"What?"

Turning his head to look at Taemyeong, his face was a mess.

"Haven't we gone without a wink of sleep for three days? Furthermore, we haven't even eaten properly."

Only then did Hyeonsu realize that a difference in internal energy existed between him and his junior brothers.

"We will depart again after completing 2 hours of individual reorganization."

"Hoo... Understood."

That gaze full of dissatisfaction would have been unimaginable in the past.

But that too ends today.

If he took back the admission tokens and showed them the price of insulting Wudang, not only his junior brothers but even the Wudang Sect wouldn't make a big issue out of this matter.

After all, wasn't he someone who had passed the Wudang internal evaluation, which was said to be harder than the Murim Academy exam?

It was time to depart again, but everyone still had faces that showed their fatigue hadn't faded.

There was no way a short nap and a meal patched together with dry rations could replenish their energy like proper rest.

"Endure it just a little longer. Those bastards must be exhausted as well."

By the time the sun setting over the western mountains vanished and the moon rose, the Wudang Sect was able to reach Mount Geumdan.

"Thirty people are positioned on each side of the valley."

"Is there a path to go up the valley?"

"It doesn't exist from this direction."

"Did they choose this place because the path is blocked?"

"It seems so."

"What is the height of the valley?"

"The high parts are about fifty feet, and the low parts are about thirty feet."

This was it.

This was where the difference between a prestigious major sect and a weak sect arose.

A difference in thought.

The pettiness of thinking it was high enough just because they themselves couldn't climb it.

For a Wudang Sect disciple, a height of fifty feet was something they could easily overcome.

"Jin Sowoon... What about him? Don't tell me that bastard went ahead?"

"No. He is at the valley side with his junior brothers."

Hyeonsu nodded and then looked at his junior brothers.

"There was a setback in the schedule, but we can proceed as planned. Let's go."

There would be some damage due to the difference in terrain. However, considering the tenfold difference in personnel and the gap in martial arts, that damage could be minimized easily.

They deployed the Grass-Skimming Steps from the entrance of the valley.

Although nearly four hundred personnel were moving, the only noise that rang out was the sound of rustling fallen leaves.

The moment they had gone quite far into the valley.

THUD!

Along with a vibration that shook the earth, a massive boulder the size of a person fell into the center of the valley.

"It's those bastards!"

Following Hyeonsu's shout, dozens of stones the size of human heads fell from both sides.

A few were hit by the fiercely falling stones and fainted right then and there, but as originally instructed, they kicked off the ground and leaped up the valley walls.

"Jin Sowoon! Where are you!"

The moment Hyeonsu kicked off the massive boulder, he burst his internal energy and soared into the sky.

Stepping once on a protruding part of the valley wall, Hyeonsu was able to reach the top of the valley in no time.

However, Jin Sowoon, who should have been visible, was nowhere to be found, and a strange sound could be heard.

SWOOOOSH.

'The sound of water?'

Seeing the Taiyi Sect group holding boulders and trying to throw them from the top of the valley was something he had expected, but the sound of water reaching his ears in the meantime was completely unexpected.

How could the sound of water, which should be heard from a river or stream, be heard in such a dry valley?

The moment he told himself it made no sense, steadied his mind, and tried to swing his sword.

Hyeonsu saw it.

The Taiyi Sect group abandoning their boulder-throwing and hugging large trees.

CRASH!

And the sight of a massive spray of water rushing toward him from the top of the valley.

"What is this!!"