Chapter 52: 9th Floor. White Sword Sect (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: 9th Floor. White Sword Sect (2)
Internal energy.
It is the power of essence, condensed within the Dantian and circulated through the body to be unleashed at will.
Its applications are truly limitless. One can temper the physical body, coat a weapon in lethal energy, leap through the air, or achieve almost anything imaginable.
It was mystery itself.
It was one of the stats that absolutely had to be obtained. While there would be many other ways to acquire internal energy later, the 9th floor offered the fastest route. Baekhwa’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
[What do you think? Are you interested?]
“Yes. I will take the challenge.”
[Good! The White Sword Sect never turns away a challenger!]
Kang Jun-hyeok answered quickly, determined not to let the opportunity slip through his fingers.
[I sense no internal energy from you. But do not worry! We have prepared tests even for those who are not of the Murim!]
With a shout, Baekhwa pointed toward a door deep inside the cave.
The character engraved on the door was First Gate (一門).
[I shall test whether you possess the qualifications to inherit the legacy of the White Sword Sect. A total of ten trials await you! Now, then!]
Rumble.
The First Gate opened, revealing a pitch-black void.
[Regrettably, as I am but a spirit, my form may destabilize if I enter the formation. I shall wait for you on the other side of the gate!]
With a smile, Baekhwa’s body vanished. Kang Jun-hyeok stepped inside the First Gate.
Rumble, rumble!
An eerie sound echoed as the First Gate’s formation activated. Kang Jun-hyeok loosened his muscles, preparing himself.
‘This is where the real trouble starts.’
The rewards for the 9th floor were a mental method, a sword technique, and internal energy.
It was the kind of fantastical power found only in legends.
How alluring it was. Even those who climbed the tower with extreme caution were bound to risk their lives for a chance at it. However, among them, almost no one had managed to actually obtain internal energy.
‘No. Not "no one," I suppose.’
There was one.
One person had reached the end of the 9th floor and claimed the prize of internal energy. Thinking of this, Kang Jun-hyeok moved forward.
The interior of the First Gate was a steep slope, angled at about 45 degrees. At the end of the slope stood a small door. Reaching it would likely lead to the next gate.
And, naturally, there was an obstacle. But it wasn't a common one.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
A thunderous roar echoed, and the ground shook violently. Kang Jun-hyeok muttered in disbelief.
“It’s damn huge.”
It was literally the size of a house. A boulder that filled the entire corridor was rolling down the slope at high speed.
There was nowhere to hide. One would either be crushed into a pancake or be forced to block it. But blocking the mass of a house-sized rock was impossible—even for a player on the 9th floor.
Kang Jun-hyeok raised his greatsword.
[Block.]
Boom!
The boulder collided with him. Despite activating Block, his body was pushed back by the immense momentum. However, he wasn't crushed. The boulder’s speed slowed, if only slightly.
Kang Jun-hyeok quickly scanned the rock. Every mass of stone has a grain. Using the effect of his Observation skill, he identified the structural weakness and thrust his greatsword into it.
[Thrust.]
Kachink!
The tip of the sword embedded itself deep into the rock. Cracks began to spiderweb across the massive boulder.
[Sword Ki and Sword Wind.]
The sword ki exploded instantly, shattering the boulder from the inside out. Fragments flew in every direction, shaking the chamber.
Even a typical 9th-floor player wouldn't have been able to stop that boulder, but Kang Jun-hyeok was different. He simply shook the dust from his hair and headed for the next door.
Baekhwa was waiting for him there.
[Oh! You passed magnificently! That is the correct answer! The soft can overcome the hard, and the weak can overcome the strong! If you understand that principle, a mere lump of stone can be perfectly deflected!]
It wasn't that at all. He had simply smashed it. Unaware of the truth, Baekhwa beamed and shouted.
[Then, let us proceed to the next gate!]
The Second Gate.
It was a long corridor, spanning about two hundred meters. There were no boulders here. Instead, there was something else.
Swish, swish, swish!
Dozens of arrows flew at him simultaneously. When he moved to dodge, more arrows rained down in a relentless storm.
The goal was to reach the door while dodging the barrage. Kang Jun-hyeok looked toward the distant exit.
[Rift Movement.]
He folded space to move. The arrows fruitlessly pierced the empty air where he had stood a moment before. As he stepped through the door, Baekhwa let out a cry of admiration.
[How fast! Arrows follow a set trajectory! If you can perceive it, you can stroll through as if taking a walk in a garden!]
It wasn't that either. He had simply bypassed the entire trial with Rift Movement. It was a wave of arrows that even a player aided by the system would normally find impossible to breach.
“I have one question,” Kang Jun-hyeok said.
[What is it?]
“Have there been other challengers besides me?”
[Not many, but not few either. This place is a cliff below a mountain path, so people occasionally fall down here. There were Murim practitioners, and even ordinary peddlers.]
“What happened to them all?”
[They failed the trials and died.]
Baekhwa spoke casually, as if their lives were of no consequence.
[It is a pity. But if one cannot even pass trials of this level, how could they hope to inherit the legacy of the White Sword Sect? Don't you agree?]
“I see.”
Kang Jun-hyeok let out a hollow laugh. Even hearing it again, the standards were insane.
[Now then, the next gate! It has been a very long time since a challenger entered the Third Gate!]
Baekhwa vanished with an excited expression.
The trial of the Third Gate was simple yet terrifying. Over an endless abyss, there was a bridge barely wide enough for a single foot. Stormy winds raged around it, ensuring that even the slightest mistake would send a person plummeting into the depths.
[This is madness.]
The Master of All Weapons, who had been quiet, let out a scoff.
[Is this fellow looking for a once-in-a-generation talent or something?]
“Do you know what this is?”
[The First Gate required an understanding of the flow of power, the Second Gate demanded judgment and spatial control, and the Third Gate tests physical balance. It’s simple,] the Master of All Weapons said lowly. [This is a talent assessment.]
“Talent, huh?”
[Well, assessing talent is what every sect does when seeking a successor. I understand wanting to see the physical potential of someone without internal energy, but... this far exceeds the normal range.]
Each trial was difficult even for players climbing the tower. For an ordinary human, it was out of the question.
[The standards are too high. Is he trying to find a Heavenly Martial Body?] the Master of All Weapons muttered, sounding baffled.
The difficulty was enough to make even the Master of All Weapons wonder. However, none of this applied to Kang Jun-hyeok. He only needed to crush the trials with his overwhelming stats and skills.
He passed the Third Gate, then the Fourth, and even the Fifth. His movements were incredibly swift and efficient. The Master of All Weapons murmured in surprise.
[It’s as if you already know what the trials entail.]
The Master of All Weapons’ guess was correct. Kang Jun-hyeok knew the contents of every trial on the 9th floor. He smiled silently.
[Oh! Ohhh! You are the first challenger to ever come this far!]
The more gates Kang Jun-hyeok passed, the more excited Baekhwa became. By the time he cleared the Seventh Gate, the spirit looked like he was about to lose his mind with joy.
And next was the Eighth Gate.
In pitch-black darkness, he had to reach the door while dodging dozens of blades suspended by threads that swung and collided. Presumably, one was meant to sense the sharp intent of the blades to dodge them.
He could have just ignored them and run; he had plenty of health. But Kang Jun-hyeok listened.
The sound of blades clashing. The wind generated by their movement. The sound of threads tangling.
He heard it all. It was the effect of the Ears That Hear Many Things skill. He collected and organized the information he heard, using it to evade the blades and reach the door with ease.
[The proficiency of 'Ears That Hear Many Things' has increased significantly.]
[Ohhhhh!]
Baekhwa let out a sound like a scream.
[Yes! If one hones their senses to be sharp enough, they can read the intent of the blades!]
Baekhwa looked at Kang Jun-hyeok with bloodshot eyes.
[You reached this point in an instant! And without a single scratch! You! You are truly magnificent! You are a genius the likes of which I have never seen in my life!]
‘That’s not really it.’
He had simply broken through with overwhelming stats and skills. He hadn't even dodged perfectly; it was just that the system’s protection prevented any injuries from occurring. But Baekhwa’s expression showed he didn't doubt it for a second. He looked as though he truly believed an ordinary human could pass through pure talent alone.
[Then, the Ninth Gate! Now! Now! Come quickly!]
Kang Jun-hyeok stepped into the Ninth Gate.
It was a space the size of a small room. Countless blade marks were engraved on its walls. The marks were etched chaotically, seemingly without meaning. At least, Kang Jun-hyeok couldn't find any.
[Oho. This is quite useful.]
However, the Master of All Weapons murmured with interest.
“Do you know what it is?”
[They are the trajectories of sword strikes. The marks on the wall alone are close to a complete sword technique. It seems you are meant to decipher them to open the door.]
“You can see that?”
[Why wouldn't I be able to read it?]
The Master of All Weapons spoke as if it weren't difficult at all.
The trajectories engraved on the walls of the Ninth Gate—the Master of All Weapons wasn't the only one who found meaning there. In his past life, there was one player who had reached the Ninth Gate. He, too, had seen the meaning in the trajectories.
After staring at the wall for a moment, Kang Jun-hyeok spoke.
“Internal energy and martial arts... they require talent, don't they?”
[You state the obvious. Martial arts, by nature, are techniques for those with talent,] the Master of All Weapons said quietly. [A dullard can train for a lifetime and never reach the third-rate, and an average man can train for a lifetime and never surpass the second-rate. Even one hailed as a genius cannot be certain of breaking through the wall to become first-rate. That is what martial arts are.]
The training of martial arts demands a talent that is almost violent. For those without it, the path isn't even open to begin with.
[This fellow demands excessive talent, but it’s not impossible.]
“If you were an ordinary human, could you pass this trial?”
[You ask the obvious.]
The Master of All Weapons spoke dismissively. Kang Jun-hyeok nodded.
“I suppose so.”
The 9th floor. A floor that demanded violent talent. No one had ever cleared it—except for one person.
He wasn't a Murim practitioner. He was a man who had barely scraped by on the pittance he earned as a waiter. But with the appearance of the tower, the man’s life changed. Through his pure, innate talent, he achieved a Perfect Clear of the 9th floor. In the end, his talent blossomed, and he was called the Number One in Murim.
Setting aside his personality, his talent was the real deal. The 9th floor was essentially a floor designed for such a player.
Kang Jun-hyeok stared blankly at the marks. The sword trajectories that the Master of All Weapons and the Number One in Murim from his past life had deciphered.
“Hmm.”
‘I still don't get it.’
He had no talent for martial arts. Not just for martial arts, but for anything else as well. He could reach a certain level in anything, but that was his limit. He was no genius.
If he had been born in the Murim, he would have trained his whole life and never moved beyond the second-rate. He would have lived as an ordinary warrior and died an ordinary death. That was the limit of his potential.
But it didn't matter. He wasn't a Murim practitioner; he was a player of the tower.
He didn't care about talent for martial arts or reading sword strikes. All that mattered was how to clear it and how to claim the rewards.
Kang Jun-hyeok opened his inventory. He pulled out a key and thrust it into the door.
[Using Near-Omnipotent Key.]
Rumble!
The door, which could not be opened without deciphering the sword technique, was forced open.