Chapter 284: Entrance Exams (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 284: Entrance Exams (4)
The moment I heard Bi Eejin's voice, I instinctively shook my shoulders, a shudder running down my spine.
Am I cursed or something?
If I found out someone actually had cursed me, I swore I'd burn them alive.
"Anyway, putting that aside…"
Since Bi Eejin seemed to have more to say, I schooled my features into an expression of attentiveness.
Well, more accurately, I was pretending to be attentive.
"Hmm…"
"What is it?"
But before he could continue, Bi Eejin took a step back, his gaze fixed on a point somewhere behind me.
"This won't do. If I stay any longer, I feel like a sword might suddenly appear."
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let's meet again."
"…"
"Well, since you didn't say no, I'll take that as a yes."
"Wait, since when does silence mean yes…!"
Bi Eejin vanished before I could finish my sentence.
The crowd that had been watching us began to disperse, satisfied that the matter had been resolved without further incident.
It seemed Gu Jeolyub and Gu Yeonseo had slipped away in the commotion as well.
Then…
"Phew…"
I slowly withdrew the Qi I had gathered in my middle Dantian.
…I didn't expect the Dishonored Venerable to intervene personally.
I knew he had some interest in me, but I never imagined he would take direct action.
It's unsettling.
Still, I had to admit his help was timely. I'd let my emotions get the better of me, blinding me to Jang Seonyeon's obvious trap.
Even so, I felt a sense of satisfaction. I'd been slightly worried that the bastard might have changed, but he was exactly the same as I remembered. Confirming that put me somewhat at ease.
Since I'm already here…
I'd come all this way, and I had someone to find anyway.
I'll kill him this time.
I had more than enough reasons. Jang Seonyeon would die here. That was one of my primary goals for coming to this place.
I reined in the killing intent that had been leaking out and looked in the direction the Dishonored Venerable had been staring earlier. I was curious what he had been referring to.
"Huh?"
Standing right there, wearing the same face covering as yesterday, was Wi Seol-Ah. Even from a distance, with people milling about, I was certain it was her.
"You."
Just as I started moving toward her…
-First and second groups! The exam will now begin! Assemble immediately!
I glanced toward the source of the announcement, and when I looked back…
"Huh."
She had already melted into the crowd.
I could find her if I tried. Using a bit of Qi here wouldn't be enough to disqualify me.
However…
Why did you look at me like that?
For some reason, the expression in Wi Seol-Ah's eyes seemed to be telling me not to look for her right now.
Even though this was only the beginning, a sense of unease was already settling in my chest.
"Sigh."
Nothing was going smoothly.
I wanted to take my frustration out on someone, but it seemed my preferred target, Gu Jeolyub, had already fled.
"Tsk."
Clicking my tongue, I started moving. I had business to attend to, after all.
* * *
Jo Wiseok, a Second Generation Disciple of the Kunlun Sect, was a martial artist who had earned the moniker "Sword of Footsteps." He was a young master who had consistently demonstrated excellence and rapid growth, his fame spreading throughout the Central Plains. When comparing talent among martial artists around thirty years of age, he held a respectable position, barring freaks like the Young Lord of the Tang Clan or geniuses like Mount Hua's Shinhyun.
"First group's Choeun Chil of the Choeun Clan, you pass."
This reputation was why he had been chosen to accompany the Qinghai Sword to the Heavenly Dragon Academy as an instructor. Yet, Jo Wiseok was not entirely satisfied with this posting.
I wonder what the Leader is thinking.
Countless matters required attention back in Qinghai, and Jo Wiseok couldn't fathom why his Leader had delegated everything to the Elders to come here. Out of respect for his superior, he held his tongue, but a deep sense of dissatisfaction remained. This was no time to be teaching a bunch of young brats.
Moreover…
The Sword Queen.
His thoughts turned to the woman serving as instructor for the second group. The Leader had informed him beforehand, but Jo Wiseok still found it hard to believe that the legendary Sword Queen had actually come to the Academy as a mere instructor. Given her stature, it wouldn't have been strange for her to be the Head of the Academy itself. She must have had her own profound reasons for setting aside her pride to teach here, at an institution managed by the Murim Alliance instead of her own Mount Hua.
Just as he was about to frown at these tangled thoughts…
Clang!
A clear, sharp sound snapped Jo Wiseok to attention. His eyes widened. Looking toward the noise, he saw the gathered young prodigies staring in admiration at a single figure—and his own reaction mirrored theirs.
Ha.
It was unavoidable.
A young man was calmly sheathing his sword before a stone pillar roughly ten feet wide.
Swish.
From the draw to the return of the blade…
Woong.
A Sword Resonance echoed, and a visible mark was etched into the surface of the pillar. It wasn't deep, but it was unmistakably a cut.
Jo Wiseok's jaw went slack at the sight.
He didn't just scratch it… he left a gash?
The task for this first exam was to leave any mark on the pillar, by any means. Many had underestimated the test, assuming that using martial skills would make it easy. Their opinions would change if they knew the pillar's composition.
Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Steel.
The sturdiest known metal in the Central Plains was mixed into it. Only a tiny amount was used, but that was enough to make an object nearly indestructible. This included the deceptively ordinary-looking black stone pillar.
He didn't know how they had procured Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Steel for a mere entrance exam, but that was the reality. The Head of the Academy had planned the exam tasks. That meant the Qinghai Sword himself was responsible for obtaining this pillar. What was the meaning behind this test? What was his goal? Jo Wiseok didn't need to know. His job was simply to judge pass or fail.
Knowing all this, Jo Wiseok stared at the young man who had left such a significant mark, scrambling to recall his name.
The Meteor Sword, was it?
The only son of the current Alliance Leader, and a young martial artist who had been a hot topic lately. That Sword Resonance was undoubtedly a martial art from the Alliance Leader's lineage.
The rumors about his talent seem true.
While the other young prodigies struggled to leave even a faint scratch, the Meteor Sword had carved a clear line with a single stroke. No wonder the others looked on with envy.
The level of this generation's prodigies is truly extraordinary.
Be it the Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes, the Meteor Sword, or even the Sword Emperor's disciple he had personally approached… in Jo Wiseok's eyes, each was special in their own way.
Even so, the top spot for this exam… seems decided already.
That was his assessment. The Meteor Sword's performance was clearly beyond the level of an ordinary prodigy. He still had to see how the other Dragons and Phoenixes would fare, but he expected that young man to take first place.
With that thought, Jo Wiseok began to speak.
"First group's Jang Seonyeon, you pa—"
CRAaaaACK!
Just as Jo Wiseok was about to announce Jang Seonyeon's result, a monstrous, shattering sound tore through the air.
* * *
"Huh?"
"What was that?"
As the young prodigies broke into noisy chatter, Jo Wiseok infused his voice with Qi and shouted, "Stay where you are! It could be dangerous!"
He then scanned the surroundings, his guard up. The direction of the sound…
Isn't that where the second group is taking their exam?
An ambush? The area was surrounded by members of the Kunlun Sect and the Murim Alliance. Unless the attackers were on the level of the Dark King, breaching that defense line should be impossible.
Jo Wiseok was about to order an evacuation just in case when a voice reached him telepathically.
"…What?"
He was so shocked he responded aloud instead of with his mind. "Someone… destroyed the pillar?"
It was unbelievable.
* * *
At the second group's examination ground, a young man covered his face with one hand and sighed at the sight of the rocks scattered everywhere.
"Chuckle…"
The Sword Queen tried to suppress her laughter, but it was a difficult task. Before her, where a pillar infused with Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Steel should have stood, was a large hole. Judging by the web of cracks running through it, the entire structure looked ready to collapse at any moment.
The person responsible for the violent destruction murmured quietly from behind his hand, his voice full of regret.
"Ah…"
Ignoring the multitude of stares fixed upon him, Gu Yangcheon was lamenting internally.
I should have controlled my strength a little.
This was the result of taking his pent-up stress out on the pillar. He was utterly speechless. Compared to the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Steel he remembered from his past life, this was downright embarrassing.
Even so, the complete silence that had fallen the moment he punched a hole through the pillar suggested it wasn't supposed to break so easily. The reason for the silence was obvious, and the atmosphere was far from welcoming for Gu Yangcheon.
He hadn't meant to do it.
With that thought weighing on him, Gu Yangcheon muttered under his breath, "I'm fucked."
It seemed he had already caused a major incident, and the exam had only just begun.