Chapter 85 - The Hellish Regular Exam's 'Second' Gate (2)

The one I was most worried about while leaving them behind was Dongryong.

I was afraid he might use his talent and throw his life away.

I was most worried that he might do that for his brothers.

What a relief.

"Eldest..."

Not knowing how proud of him I felt, Dongryong just stared at me blankly with his mouth wide open.

"You did well."

I unleashed the World-Traversing Lone Footwork and charged at Gam Cheoljin with all my might.

He dodged my crazed charge by using the momentum of a fired arrow.

And I immediately dashed straight toward Jong Seogang.

"Damn it...!"

Curses burst from Gam Cheoljin's mouth, likely thinking I was going to attack him, but I was already right up against Jong Seogang.

CRASH!

"Ugh."

Jong Seogang was pushed back three *jang* the moment our swords clashed.

"What kind of internal energy..."

His shock at the unexpected destructive power was brief, and Jong Seogang quickly regained his posture.

I solely continued to pressure Jong Seogang, separating him from his group.

The Yellow Sword Sect warriors, whose top priority was to protect Jong Seogang, trailed closely behind in a long line.

The Heaven and Earth Net slowly began to collapse.

"... You really are far too lucky."

Jong Seogang, bleeding from the mouth as if his insides were shaken, forced himself to recover his complexion as he spoke.

"Does chalking everything up to luck make you feel better?"

"Are you saying you even knew that monster was here?"

"Thinking I wouldn't be able to break such a flimsy Heaven and Earth Net in the first place was your fatal mistake."

"..."

As half of the Yellow Sword Sect warriors, including Gam Cheoljin, pulled away, the killing intent of the Heaven and Earth Net flowed in reverse.

Those who had been emitting killing intent up until now had their eyes dyed red, bathed in the very killing intent as if taking the pent-up water of a reservoir head-on.

CLASH CLASH CLASH CLASH CLASH!

The illusions and reality of the Twin Heaven Sword Art dizzy Jong Seogang's eyes, and his desire to rely on Gam Cheoljin and the other warriors prevents him from focusing.

In an instant, his front collar was slashed, his topknot was cut off, and a long scar was carved into his left arm.

"Ugh."

"Young Master!"

CLANG!

And only then was my sword stopped by Gam Cheoljin's blade.

"Young Master, are you alright?!"

"..."

He did not answer.

Turned to rags, Jong Seogang glared at Gam Cheoljin and the warriors of the Yellow Sword Sect with eyes full of resentment.

A gaze asking why he had to suffer such a state.

"... I apologize."

As Gam Cheoljin bowed his head, only then did Jong Seogang turn his gaze to me.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Sword Sect warriors, their expressions souring, began to form a sword array to protect Jong Seogang.

"Your sect members are quite pitiful. To have a Young Master who doesn't even recognize the grace of having his life saved."

GRIND.

The sound of teeth grinding rang from Jong Seogang's mouth.

"Are you still acting so leisurely? If it were me, I would have taken my junior brothers and run away with that impressive footwork of yours."

Just as Jong Seogang said, the empty spaces left by the Yellow Sword Sect began to be filled by other sects.

The hastily repaired Heaven and Earth Net was now targeting not only the Taiyi Sect disciples but also the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake.

"I figured it'd be annoying if I left behind future troubles."

"Pfft. Still bluffing."

Jong Seogang grabbed his bleeding arm and laughed.

"A bluff, you say. You must have investigated me thoroughly?"

"I know that your sect possesses a new martial art. However, a mere phantom sword will not be enough to deceive them."

Warriors who have reached the Peak Realm possess the eye to distinguish illusion from reality.

No matter how outstanding a phantom sword or variable sword may be, it is merely an illusion in the face of the Peak Realm.

"Why? Is there a Peak Realm warrior mixed in here?"

"..."

Jong Seogang clamped his mouth tightly shut, at a loss for words.

"Well, if a secret warrior of the Yellow Sword Sect secretly participated, it makes sense that you easily passed all the past exams."

"Watch your mouth!"

Jong Seogang's face flushed red.

"Why are you getting so agitated? If you are confident in yourself, it's nothing to be ashamed of, is it?"

"... What are you doing! Kill that bastard at once!"

"..."

Even though Jong Seogang dropped his polite tone and began speaking disrespectfully, the Yellow Sword Sect warriors seemed used to it. Not a single expression changed as they formed their sword array and rushed forward.

Twilight One Sword Array.

A unique sword array specialized for many-on-one combat, where multiple warriors move as a single sword.

With Gam Cheoljin at the forefront, the Yellow Sword Sect warriors began to charge like a single sharp blade.

"Phantom swords and variable swords are not the only things that exist in the Taiyi Sect."

"..."

"This sword will show you that we didn't cross the line of death by sheer luck."

[Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art]

Four illusions burst forth from the Black Dragon Sword.

Gam Cheoljin's expression, which had assumed it was a common phantom sword, began to harden seriously.

* * *

"Aaaagh!"

"Gah!"

"I-It's coming!"

"Maintain the Heaven and Earth Net!"

Screams could be heard from all directions.

Like a swarm of ants attacking an earthworm, the seven hundred people who formed the Heaven and Earth Net surrounded the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake and attacked it relentlessly.

The Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake swallowed the humans closest to it, bit them to death, and crushed them with its body.

Furthermore, whenever they tried to get close, it spewed a blue venom from its mouth. The first warrior to be drenched in that venom had his vocal cords melted away and died before he could even scream.

"Widen the distance!"

"Engage it with flying swords and arrows!"

Flying swords and arrows were hidden weapons lethal to humans, but the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake didn't even flinch.

The flying swords and arrows that touched the hard, slippery Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake were blocked by the slime exuded from its skin and fell powerlessly to the ground.

"Keugh!"

"R-Run away!"

"Don't run! Those who retreat will not be forgiven!"

It was absolute chaos.

As the Heaven and Earth Net broke, the killing intent that filled the inside stretched out in all directions.

Among those who had formed an alliance to cast the Heaven and Earth Net, there were even some who began swinging their swords at each other.

A living hell had unfolded here.

"Whoa..."

And Geumpyo, who was located closest to the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake, let out a nonchalant gasp.

"Geumpyo hyung! Do your footwork properly! Didn't you see that poop-colored snake swallow a person whole?"

"It doesn't seem interested in us anyway."

Even though the Geum-eun-dong Brothers were clearly the closest to the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake, none of the warriors forming the Heaven and Earth Net had the mind to question why they weren't being attacked.

Not when the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake was spewing venom right before their eyes and opening a maw as large as a massive cave.

"The snake isn't the problem. We're still inside the Heaven and Earth Net."

"I know, I know."

The footwork Jin Sowoon had forced them to learn back when they barely had time to sleep.

'I just thought it was a footwork with an ominous name.'

They hadn't even had internal energy back then, and since they were half-asleep, they couldn't even remember exactly how they learned it.

They were merely following Eunho's feet like their lives depended on it, as he had the best memory.

This footwork, called the Turtle-Breath Footwork, was said to perfectly hide one's tracks.

When they asked if they could just run away using this, he had replied that since they hadn't learned a separate stealth technique, they would eventually get caught if they were seen. Because of that, they had internally cursed their Senior Brother for keeping them awake over something so utterly useless.

I am sorry, Eldest Senior Brother.

I am stupid, and I am a fool.

How boundless as the sky is Eldest Senior Brother's grace?

Thanks to this incomplete Turtle-Breath Footwork, that poop-colored snake couldn't notice them and was desperately thrashing about and snapping its jaws at the people emitting intense killing intent.

"... Dongryong, are you okay?"

"... Yeah. I'm okay."

"You punk, I told you not to take this off so carelessly!"

Geumpyo hurriedly placed the Tangmaryeongju around Dongryong's neck.

He knew what was going through Dongryong's mind when he leaped out.

And in reality, if it hadn't been for Dongryong, one of the three of them really would have become a victim of a poisoned flying sword, or the three Geum-eun-dong brothers would have become two.

Even so, the fact that their youngest brother had done something so dangerous weighed heavily on his mind, prompting Geumpyo to say a word.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"If you do something dangerous one more time, I'm really leaving you behind then."

"I got it! Stop saying you're going to leave me behind."

"Anyway, I think we'll be fine if we just stay like this, right?"

The Heaven and Earth Net was slowly breaking apart.

The thick killing intent that had been tightening around their necks was gradually fading, and the enemies who had been rushing from all sides to kill them were now fully preoccupied with dealing with the poop-colored snake.

"..."

However, for some reason, a reassuring response didn't come from Eunho.

"Hey, because of the killing intent those people are emitting anyway, we..."

"No, look at that."

The place Eunho was pointing to.

Men dressed in azure clothes and carrying large sabers eventually dismantled the Heaven and Earth Net and stepped forward.

Then, they leapt into the air all at once, recklessly pouring out saber qi.

SCREEEEEECH--!

The Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake, which had seemed to be sweeping through the humans unhindered, let out a scream for the first time.

Its scales, which hadn't budged even against a rain of arrows, fell off in chunks, and blood poured from the exposed flesh beneath.

"It's wounded. Focus your attacks!"

The Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake thrashed even more violently at the concentrated attacks from the Azure Blade Gang warriors.

Fearing casualties, the warriors dodged while continuing to fire arrows and throw flying swords in the midst of the chaos.

SCREEECH!

"Run!"

"Damn it!"

At Eunho's signal, the three Geum-eun-dong Brothers executed the Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps and bolted forward.

"There are the Taiyi Sect disciples!"

"Catch them first!"

With the Azure Blade Gang focusing intensely on the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake, the warriors from the other sects who gained some breathing room began charging toward the three brothers.

"I guess one of us is fated to inherit the legacy of the poisoned flying swords?"

"Geumpyo hyung! Please don't say such unlucky things in a situation like this!"

"Yeah! Eldest brother always says unlucky things!"

"..."

Scolded while forming their sword array, Geumpyo stood at the very front and stared down the enemies.

* * *

"Hah... This can't be."

Jong Seogang couldn't tear his eyes away from the sight unfolding before him.

"... What is this!"

It made no sense.

Gam Cheoljin was an expert with elder-level skills within the Yellow Sword Sect.

Even though such an expert had formed the Twilight One Sword Array, he broke through it?

Just as investigated, Jin Sowoon used a technique that pressured his opponent by alternating between phantom swords and fast swords.

On top of that, he threw his opponent into further confusion by incorporating variation and weight.

Against a warrior of the same level, he was undoubtedly an extremely tricky opponent to deal with.

That is, only if they were of the same level.

Gam Cheoljin's condition didn't look too good either after the Twilight One Sword Array was broken and he rushed over to protect him.

"What... is this... A mere phantom sword trickster..."

From the Peak Realm, where the distinction between illusion and reality becomes clear, phantom swords become useless.

That was why the gossips of Murim disparagingly referred to warriors who used phantom swords as phantom sword tricksters.

"It's not just a phantom sword."

Unlike his usual self, Gam Cheoljin spoke firmly.

"What?"

"It's not just a phantom sword. It is a true sword that looks like a phantom sword."

"What nonsense."

"Young Master... I think it would be best to retreat for now."

"What are you talking about! Run away?!"

A disciple of an insignificant sect was holding eight First Gate admission tokens.

Whether by coincidence or intention, a monster that appeared to possess a spiritual pill had also emerged.

If he fled in fear from a Taiyi Sect disciple here, he wouldn't even be able to sleep due to self-contempt, never mind the gazes of the people of Jianghu.

"..."

"All disciples of the Yellow Sword Sect, assemble!"

Jong Seogang's voice rang out loudly. Both the Azure Blade Gang dealing with the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake and the warriors of the other sects who were barely maintaining the Heaven and Earth Net alongside them stared at Jong Seogang with eyes full of question.

"I said gather at once! We must catch this bastard! This bastard has the First Gate admission tokens!"

"..."

However, not a single Yellow Sword Sect warrior moved hastily.

"These..."

The moment Jong Seogang's face turned red at the behavior of the disciples who wouldn't listen to his words, Gam Cheoljin finally sighed and muttered quietly.

"Everyone, assemble!"

With his words, the Yellow Sword Sect warriors who had been barely holding up the Heaven and Earth Net all landed around Gam Cheoljin and Jong Seogang in unison.

"Hah..."

When the men who hadn't budged at the command of the one who would lead the next generation moved like lightning at a single word from Gam Cheoljin, a dumbfounded Jong Seogang soon realized it wasn't the time and swallowed his anger.

Then, forcing a triumphant smile, he looked at Jin Sowoon.

"You've got quite the trick up your sleeve. However, the Hellish Standard Exam cannot be passed with just petty tricks and sleight of hand."

Even with nearly fifty Yellow Sword Sect warriors standing before him, Jin Sowoon showed no signs of tension at all.

"I was wondering what nonsense you were going to spout."

"If you hand over the First Gate admission tokens even now, I will pretend this never happened."

"Hah, over fifty disciples from your sect have ended up as casualties. And you'll just let it go? Do you think your sect's warriors will just let this slide?"

"..."

Jin Sowoon's skill was real.

Even so, Jong Seogang was confident.

In reality, the Golden-Scaled Azure Thread Snake was slowly being cornered by the Azure Blade Gang, and there were still over five hundred allied warriors spread out in all directions.

No matter how outstanding Jin Sowoon's skills were, there was no possibility of him escaping or winning here.

"Do you wish to die here?"

"Die? Us? Did you not hear what I said earlier? I deliberately entered Mount Makgan."

"Yes, and thanks to that, we'll easily pass the Second Gate as well."

Jin Sowoon soon sheathed his sword into its scabbard.

Jong Seogang's face lit up as he asked.

"Have you given up?"

"Given up? Pfft."

"Do you think... you can get out of here?"

"Why else would I have come here?"

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

CROAK. CROOOAAAK.

"Keugh!"

"What is this now!"

"Damn it!"

Screams began to be heard from afar.

The eyes of the Yellow Sword Sect warriors, who had been preparing for a battle, now bugged out like rabbits'.

"Did you think that snake was the only thing I prepared?"

Single-Horned Black Toad.

The black toad, known to prey on snakes, sported a long horn on its head and scattered poison in all directions, hopping toward them in a manner entirely unsuited to its massive size.