Chapter 26 - The Second-Rate Warrior Who Dominates the Exam

The Taiyi Sect was bustling since morning due to the visit of strangers.

Dozens of people dressed in identical outfits cleaned the grounds of the Taiyi Sect and prepared meals.

The smell of a large, whole boiled pig naturally woke the children up, and even the outer disciples who were entering the sect with heavy hearts soon had their worries erased by the piercing, fragrant smell of meat, looking for the source of the scent.

"What in the world is this?"

At my muttering, Wang Soso, who was standing next to me, smiled cutely and said.

"These are the things my father provided, saying we need to eat a hearty meal on the day of the exam."

"The Manor Lord did?"

"Yes."

"I feel like we might be imposing too much on him."

Wang Soso shook her head as if telling me not to mention it.

"Hoho, I had to try so hard to stop him from slaughtering a cow, throwing a feast, and hosting the talent scouts under the name of the Taiyi Sect."

"... Please tell him I said thank you."

"Oh right, my father asked you to visit Wangga Manor sometime. He said he wants to personally treat you to a meal."

"I will go visit sometime soon."

All the members of the Taiyi Sect gathered in the dining hall.

In front of each of them was placed a simple but hearty bowl of meat soup, and the children were looking at the Sect Leader, swallowing their saliva as if they could hardly hold back any longer.

"Let us eat with a heart of gratitude toward the Manor Lord who prepared such an excellent meal."

"""Thank you."""

The children shouted in unison as soon as the Sect Leader finished speaking, and Wang Soso merely smiled softly and nodded.

The children didn't know what to do when they didn't see Wang Soso act arrogantly like Gye Cheolyeong, even after waiting a moment.

After all, it used to be a daily routine for them to listen to Gye Cheolyeong brag for a long time.

"Is everyone not going to eat?"

At Wang Soso's words, everyone hesitated before finally picking up their spoons.

The atmosphere in the dining hall was more amicable than ever before.

While everyone was preparing for the exam after finishing the meal, the people from the Gyeryong Merchant Group entered.

Gye Yeonseok, Gye Cheolyeong, and three people I was seeing for the first time.

A man who looked like a scholar, a woman who looked like a warrior, and a middle-aged man exuding a peculiar atmosphere standing between them.

The way they were accompanied by people with distinct characteristics was exactly like the composition of the talent scouts.

"Hmph! Did you all eat some cheap meat soup? The hall is reeking with a fishy stench."

As Gye Yeonseok spoke while pinching his nose, Wang Soso tilted her head.

"That can't be. My father specially slaughtered Nokcheong pigs, a specialty of Zhejiang Province, so there shouldn't be any fishy smell?"

Nokcheong pigs referred to pigs raised on Anji white tea and bamboo salt rice wine from Zhejiang Province. No wonder the broth had brewed so richly without a single hint of fishiness.

"..."

In the end, the sparks of Gye Yeonseok's anger, unable to say anything to Wang Soso, flew to me.

"Does meat soup even go down your throat right before an important exam?"

"Eating expensive pork soup without feeling bloated is certainly better than eating several cheap pigs."

This was a jab at Gye Yeonseok, who always bought loads of pigs that died after constantly giving birth to litters whenever he threw a feast.

"But will you be alright? Cheolyeong might fail the exam, so shouldn't you be going to a temple and offering prayers at a time like this?"

"Hmph! You must not have heard the rumors yet."

"Rumors?"

"The person standing in the middle of those three over there is the famous Star Instructor, Sir Jang Sagun."

At Gye Yeonseok's gesture, the eyes of the children nearby also turned toward Jang Sagun's group.

"Among the students he has taken on, not a single one has failed the special admission. No matter what tricks you pull, the Taiyi Sect will ultimately be nothing more than a tool to make our Cheolyeong shine."

Hearing Gye Yeonseok's words, the children dropped their heads one by one, already looking disheartened.

"Seeing you speak like this, it seems you really intend to sever ties with the Taiyi Sect."

"Hmph! There is no need to associate anymore with those who would abandon their ties over a bowl of meat soup."

At his words, I slowly began to emit killing intent.

"Think carefully. Although it is merely in name, Senior Brother Cheolyeong entered as a lay disciple. If he intends to leave as he pleases, he must rightfully pay the price for it."

Exposed to the killing intent, Gye Yeonseok's face turned pale white.

At that moment, the Star Instructor, Jang Sagun, stepped forward.

"Hoho, a person who has learned martial arts is intimidating an ordinary civilian. It truly shows how uneducated you are. Is that what the Taiyi Sect teaches?"

I spoke back without backing down.

"Since a gentleman trades what he has learned for money to make a living, he should be called a merchant, not a gentleman."

Jang Sagun's face stung with guilt. However, he quickly regained his composure and continued.

"Even Confucius accepted tuition fees to secure provisions when teaching his disciples."

"I heard that you, Senior Star Instructor, receive a grand mansion as your tuition fee?"

Jang Sagun's face flushed bright red.

As his reputation suggested, hiring him required a massive amount of money.

Even if it was a tacitly agreed-upon transaction where supply and demand perfectly aligned, there was nothing to be proud of from the standpoint of Jang Sagun, who was posing as a gentleman.

"Your tongue is incredibly wicked. We will see if your skills match it once the results are out."

At that moment, Kang Chaeseok shouted, his voice ringing throughout the hall.

"Enough chitchat and everyone gather around! The talent scouts have arrived."

The Sect Leader, as well as the elders and the Hall Leaders of each hall, were already gathered.

As the children gathered in one place, a small procession slowly entered.

"It's the Murim Alliance."

As someone shouted, heads turned toward the front of the procession.

The person standing at the very front was holding the Murim Alliance flag, clearly showing that they were envoys of the Murim Alliance.

"Lee Jagon, a talent scout of the Murim Alliance, greets you."

"We greet you."

When the one who introduced himself as Lee Jagon greeted Sect Leader Hong Mungi, the envoys who had accompanied him all bowed in unison.

Excluding the escorts, the total number of envoys was eleven.

Excluding Lee Jagon, there were five people with a scholarly appearance and five with a warrior-like appearance.

"Thank you for your hard work coming such a long way. I hope you will select excellent talents this time as well."

"Selecting talents for the 108 Peaks is a matter of grave importance for the Murim Alliance as well. We will do our best to ensure there are no issues with the exam."

The ten envoys divided in unison and began to prepare for the exam.

The scholars took off the wooden backpacks they were carrying on their backs, pulled out exam papers densely filled with characters, and began stacking them on the table.

The junior brothers, who were taking an exam for the first time in their lives, already didn't look well.

Gye Cheolyeong was looking at something like a palm-sized book bound with small papers, then smirked and said.

"Are you scared of the exam?"

"... Aren't you scared, Senior Brother?"

"You guys are afraid because you didn't prepare properly. If you prepared properly like me, you wouldn't be scared."

Gye Cheolyeong's conversation partner was Dongryong, the youngest of the three brothers: Geumpyo, Eunho, and Dongryong.

"If you really have no idea, should I point out a few questions for you?"

"..."

Dongryong looked at Gye Cheolyeong with an expression full of resentment, and Geumpyo and Eunho, who had been listening to the conversation together, quickly led Dongryong away to another spot.

While the scholars prepared the first exam, the warriors met with the Hall Leaders and were conversing.

"Are you only testing on basic swordsmanship and basic mental cultivation methods this time as well?"

At Kang Chaeseok's question, the female warrior nodded.

"The martial arts exam for the 108 Peaks is always the same. It observes the depth and utilization of basic martial arts. You will learn other martial arts at the Murim Academy, but anyway, it ultimately checks how solidly the roots have been formed."

"Understood. Regarding the basic martial arts and basic mental cultivation methods, we Hall Leaders will tell you what needs to be observed."

At Kang Chaeseok's words, the female warrior shook her head.

"We have already fully grasped the Taiyi Sect's martial arts through the data at the Murim Alliance before coming. Thank you for your concern."

At the female warrior's words, Kang Chaeseok looked quite flustered.

Even if it was basic martial arts, they couldn't possibly know it better than those who belonged to that sect.

If they had grasped everything with just the data, it meant that the skills of these warriors who came as examiners were already far beyond their own.

"Ugh..."

Kang Chaeseok said no more and merely watched those preparing for the exam.

While observing the examiners' preparations, Lee Jagon opened his eyes wide upon seeing a certain person in the hall.

When the other person made eye contact with Lee Jagon, they gave a slight bow, and Lee Jagon immediately formed a fist-and-palm salute and spoke.

"Senior. What brings you here?"

People's eyes began to focus on Lee Jagon and Jang Sagun.

Jang Sagun smiled, broadening his shoulders.

"Junior, have you been well?"

"Of course. Isn't it thanks to your thorough teaching that I have taken on the role of a leader of the talent scouts like this?"

"I knew you would turn out like that."

Listening quietly, it seemed Lee Jagon and Jang Sagun were very close in the past.

"By any chance, do you have a student you taught taking this exam?"

"Ah, right, I haven't made introductions."

Jang Sagun reached out to his right and said.

"This child is Gye Cheolyeong, a lay disciple of the Taiyi Sect and the legitimate heir of the Gyeryong Merchant Group. I came all this way because there was an incredible hidden dragon here in Hefei, Anhui Province, besides the twin dragons of the Iron Sword Sect."

Gye Cheolyeong squared his shoulders, took a step forward, and offered a fist-and-palm salute.

"I am Gye Cheolyeong of the Gyeryong Merchant Group."

Lee Jagon looked at him and nodded.

"He is a very handsome and imposing young man. I understand why you chose him, Senior."

"Hohoho, you said you only oversaw exams all this time, but how is it that your eloquence has only gotten better?"

"Well. In fact, didn't all the children you taught go to the Murim Academy? From our perspective, it makes it easier to distinguish the jewels from the stones, so we consider it convenient."

Jang Sagun patted Lee Jagon's shoulder, as if he were satisfied.

"Hahaha. Yes, yes. I see. If you aren't busy, let's have a drink after the exam is completely over."

"I hope we can do that."

Since the distance between the children and those two wasn't that far, we could clearly hear every word of their conversation.

Listening to their conversation, Wang Soso glared and said.

"This makes no sense. I will tell my father right away and file a complaint."

Wang Soso's feelings were the same as all of ours.

However, I stopped Wang Soso.

"They haven't given any preferential treatment in the exam yet, so stay seated."

"Oppa, the very fact that the examiner and the examinee have a personal connection is unfair."

At that moment, Saryeon interjected.

"Senior Brother."

"Yes?"

As Wang Soso looked at her with questioning eyes, Saryeon spoke with a firm face.

"You should address him as Senior Brother, not Oppa, shouldn't you?"

"Ah... I'm sorry. Anyway, Senior Sister, you also think this makes no sense, right?"

"Yeah. But the Head Disciple probably has a plan. Right?"

Saryeon glared at me with eyes that said she wouldn't let it slide if I were to say 'I don't have one' at this point.

"Both of you studied the book I gave you, right?"

"I read it diligently, but..."

"Yes. I memorized all of it."

Saryeon looked unconfident, while Soso was full of confidence.

"You memorized all of it? The amount wasn't small."

"The only thing I could do in my room every day was read books. I can easily memorize that much."

I gave a small nod.

"The other children wouldn't be any different, right?"

"Junior Sister Soso privately tutored the children who couldn't understand it."

"Ho. Then that's enough."

Despite my confident demeanor, Saryeon and Soso tilted their heads as if they didn't understand.

A moment later, when Hong Mungi stood in the center, the commotion in the hall died down.

Looking at the children with a somewhat complicated gaze, Hong Mungi opened his mouth.

"Thankfully, the Murim Alliance has recognized the potential of the Taiyi Sect and held today's exam to select special talents."

The children quietly watched him, not taking their eyes off of Hong Mungi's mouth for even a moment.

"When the results of the exam come out, there will be those who are frustrated by it, and those who cheer."

Hong Mungi's gaze somehow lingered on Gye Cheolyeong.

He seemed distressed by the expectation that the successful candidate of this exam would be Gye Cheolyeong.

"However, considering that you are walking the long, long path of the Dao, the exam right in front of you is nothing but a part of that process."

The words he was speaking now must simply be out of his hope that the children's spirits wouldn't be broken.

"Therefore, I hope the disciples of the Taiyi Sect will place greater meaning in being able to check how far they have come on this long journey through this opportunity."

In the end, it was certain that this kind of thoughtfulness was what made the Taiyi Sect have a more family-like atmosphere.

'But...'

Just letting things slide to keep the peace was enough in my past life.

Because I had absolutely no intention of repeating the same mistakes of the past in this exam.

"..."

I felt as though Hong Mungi, having finished speaking, was somehow staring intently at me.

Subsequently, as the talent scout stepped forward, Hong Mungi slowly turned around and stepped down from the podium.

"The exam will now begin. Examinees, please take your seats."

As the disciples spaced themselves out and took their places on small mats in neat rows and columns, the scholars personally went around and placed the exam papers face down.

"The exam time is a total of two hours. Examinees, please do your best. Keep in mind that if you secretly look at someone else's answer sheet or copy from it, you will be disqualified. We will now begin."

When a scholar struck a small gong with a *CLANG*, the disciples began to flip over their exam papers in unison.

Gye Cheolyeong began to skim through the exam paper as if he were already full of confidence.

On the other hand, the disciples still looked downcast as they stared blankly at their exam papers, wearing blank expressions, as if the words on the page were completely incomprehensible.

I looked around at Gye Cheolyeong and the junior brothers once.

'Notice it!'

After fifteen minutes passed, a look of bewilderment began to appear in Gye Cheolyeong's eyes as well. He had encountered a question he hadn't expected.

On the other hand, the downcast disciples began to tilt their heads one by one.

Then slowly, but without resting, they began to write down their answers.

"What is this?"

Below the training ground, Jang Sagun sensed something strange and furrowed his brow.

It was because he saw all the disciples of the Taiyi Sect writing on their answer sheets without resting.

Only then did Gye Cheolyeong realize that he was the only one stuck, unable to solve the questions.

"Hah..."

As he let out a small sigh while looking at the other disciples, one of the scholars approached and whispered in a low voice.

"Examinee, focus quietly on your exam if you do not want to be disqualified."

"Ah... Yes, yes."

Gye Cheolyeong buried his head again, but he still couldn't focus on the exam.