The Hunter in the Darkness

Dokgo Jin's footsteps came to a halt as he reached the end of the long corridor. Before him stood another heavy iron door, its stone lintel deeply engraved with two characters: Second Gate.

A curious light flickered in his eyes. Rather than dreading the unknown that awaited him, an intense curiosity stirred in his chest. What manner of trial would this one be?

With a low, grinding rumble, the iron door parted, and the moment Dokgo Jin crossed the threshold, a heavy scent washed over him. The cool air smelled of ancient, weathered wood blended with the sharp, coppery tang of iron. Inside, the chamber was swallowed whole by an impenetrable, pitch-black darkness that swallowed even the faintest glimmer of light.

Thud!

The heavy door slammed shut behind him, snuffing out the last pale sliver of daylight from the corridor.

Dokgo Jin stood motionless in the gloom. Moments stretched on, yet no lanterns flared to life. Surrounded by absolute, suffocating darkness where he could not even make out the palm of his hand, he remained entirely unfazed. Then, out of the hollow void, a disembodied voice resonated through the air.

"Welcome to the Second Gate."

The voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere at once, bouncing off unseen walls so that its origin was impossible to pinpoint.

"The battlefield is rarely bright. In the chaos of night raids and bloody turmoil, your eyes will always be the first to betray you."

The voice abruptly fell silent. In the stillness that followed, a faint, almost imperceptible rustle stirred the dark.

"The rule of the Second Gate is simple: walk out through the exit on the far side. Naturally, the perils lurking in the shadows will not make it easy for you."

Those words served as the signal.

Ssshhk!

Not even the whisper of a breeze gave warning. Only a razor-sharp wave of qi whipped past, grazing Dokgo Jin's left cheek with lethal intent.

A flash of recognition crossed his mind. Sword qi.

He tilted his head by a fraction of an inch. A few severed strands of his hair fluttered soundlessly through the air. Had he been a hairsbreadth slower, the strike would have taken his head cleanly from his shoulders. Yet Dokgo Jin's expression did not waver in the slightest.

A warning strike, he deduced. Had the attack been truly aimed to kill, he would have shifted his entire body to evade it rather than merely tilting his head. Impressive, though. To loose sword qi with such complete stealth is no small feat.

He could already gauge the caliber of the swordsmen concealed throughout the chamber. Just as he suspected, the ambushers waiting in the dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠belonged to the Wind Sword Unit, a specialized detachment under the Flying Shadow Banner. They were master assassins, bred to erase their presence, dissolve into the shadows, and slit throats without a sound.

Any ordinary martial artist thrust into such circumstances would have panicked, swinging wildly into the void or retreating desperately with their back glued to a wall in an attempt to defend themselves. But Dokgo Jin was far from ordinary.

Fascinating. A faint, chilling smirk curled the corner of his lips in the dark.

Darkness. To most mortals, it was an object of visceral dread. But to Dokgo Jin, this blackness was as familiar and welcoming as his own home. The martial art he cultivated—the Nine Nether Dark Sky Scripture—was a supreme technique born from the deepest, most unfathomable abyss of the Nine Nethers.

Tsssk!

From his dantian, a wisp of Ink Flame Qi emerged, coursing through his meridians and cloaking his body. The moment it enveloped him, a wondrous phenomenon occurred. Deprived of his vision, every pore across his skin opened wide, reading the subtlest shifts in the chamber's air currents with unnatural clarity.

One, two, three... ten in all.

The muffled thrum of held heartbeats, the faint rasp of breath tight with tension, even the microscopic ripples of displaced air as feet shifted across stone—in Dokgo Jin's heightened awareness, the darkness ceased to be a veil. Instead, it became a spotless mirror reflecting every living thing in flawless detail. Across the rectangular hall, the positions of all ten members of the Wind Sword Unit burned into his mind like beacons.

A calm smile touched his lips. Now then... who truly holds the advantage?

Meanwhile, the hidden assassins were growing uneasy at the challenger's utter lack of movement.

That sword qi should have rattled him. Why isn't he moving?

He's far calmer than expected.

Let's press him for real this time.

Swish!

A sudden gust of lethal intent erupted from Dokgo Jin's right flank. This time, two swordsmen struck in tandem, one aiming high for his neck while the other swept low for his waist. It was a flawless pincer attack, executed without form or sound. But Dokgo Jin was already moving.

Clack!

Out of the empty dark, his right hand darted forward and seized the upper attacker's wrist in a vise-like grip.

"Gh—?!"

A choked gasp of pure astonishment escaped the assassin. Dokgo Jin leaned in and whispered softly into the shadows.

"I can see everything."

"What—?!"

Dokgo Jin wrenched the captured wrist downward, using the man's own weapon as a shield to intercept the low sweep rushing in from the side.

Clang!

Sparks exploded in the gloom. In the brief instant the second swordsman froze after striking his comrade's blade, Dokgo Jin drove a front kick squarely into the first man's solar plexus.

Thwack!

"Guh-urk!"

The impact sent the first assassin crashing backward into his partner, sending both tumbling violently across the paved floor. It had all unfolded in the blink of an eye. Lurking in the shadows, the remaining eight swordsmen of the Wind Sword Unit froze in sheer horror.

This is impossible! How can he see us?!

To execute such precise counters without sight defied every rule of martial logic. At least, that was how it appeared to their reckoning.

Step. Step.

Dokgo Jin began walking forward, intentionally letting his boots scuff against the stone. It was a deliberate provocation, practically daring them to strike, even as he closed in on the nearest operative.

Panicked by the footsteps advancing directly toward him, the assassin could no longer hold his nerve and lashed out with a desperate slash.

Whoosh!

Dokgo Jin did not even dodge. He flicked a single finger imbued with Ink Flame Qi against the incoming flat of the blade.

Ting!

The violent vibration tore through the hilt, shattering the swordsman's stance. Before the man could recover, Dokgo Jin's palm struck upward, catching him lightly under the chin.

Crack!

Knocked senseless, the assassin collapsed like a marionette with severed strings. Dokgo Jin stepped over the fallen body and turned his gaze toward the next target.

Step. Step. Step.

His deliberate footfalls echoed through the stone chamber like rolling thunder, striking dread into the hearts of the surviving assassins. The dynamic between predator and prey had completely inverted. The Wind Sword Unit had concealed themselves in the dark to hunt, yet now, they were the ones being methodically hunted down.

What kind of monster is this guy...?!

From that moment on, the chamber devolved into a one-sided massacre of pride. Punches cracked, bodies slammed into stone, and panicked scrambles resounded through the darkness. Driven to desperation by the sound of his approach, the assassins gritted their teeth and thrust with everything they had. Yet Dokgo Jin slipped past their strikes as effortlessly as if walking under broad daylight, neutralizing them one by one with effortless counters.

Nor could they coordinate a group assault. In this total blackness, attempting a tangled melee carried far too great a risk of skewering one of their own comrades. Realizing the futility of combat, the remaining operatives scattered, desperately executing their shadow concealment arts to put distance between themselves and the encroaching demon.

Perceiving their retreat, the smirk on Dokgo Jin's lips deepened.

Run as far as you like. You cannot leave my domain.

It was as though an invisible thread tied each of them to his fingertips. No matter where they fled, he tracked them down in seconds and brought them to the floor with ruthless efficiency.

Thump!

It was not even a contest. The darkness belonged entirely to Dokgo Jin.

Before long, the chamber fell dead silent once more. Not a single standing presence remained.

"Is that all of them?"

Scattered across the cold stone, the bruised and battered swordsmen of the Wind Sword Unit groaned in disbelief and humiliation.

Dokgo Jin adjusted his robes with a calm, orderly tug, then walked over to the reinforced door set into the opposite wall. With a steady push, the heavy barrier swung inward, and blinding light flooded his vision. He narrowed his eyes against the sudden glare.

Standing just beyond the threshold with his arms crossed was a man whose jaw had dropped entirely slack. It was none other than Jin So, the Vice-Commander of the Wind Sword Unit.

"...You're out already?"

Barely half an incense stick of time—less than fifteen minutes—had passed. Challengers who faced the Second Gate typically crawled out battered and bloody, or collapsed from sheer exhaustion in the dark to be dragged out as failures. Yet Dokgo Jin stood before him utterly pristine, save for a few trimmed strands of hair.

Jin So's gaze darted past Dokgo Jin's shoulder into the illuminated chamber. Inside, the wall sconces had flared back to life, revealing nearly a dozen elite Wind Sword operatives sprawled across the floor, clutching their broken stances and groaning in agony.

"...Hah!"

Jin So let out a hollow, incredulous laugh. They hadn't ambushed the boy in the dark—he had hunted them down like cattle.

Dokgo Jin asked nonchalantly, "Does this mean I have passed?"

Jin So stared at him with trembling eyes. The ability to fight without sight was not simply a matter of martial mastery; it belonged to the realm of pure, transcendent sensory perception. And this youth possessed senses that went far beyond ordinary human limits.

The Iron Soul Unit Leader has dragged in an absolute monster!

Snapping out of his daze, Jin So cleared his throat to mask his shock. "Ahem! Forgive me. Your clearance of the Second Gate is officially recognized. You will receive the highest possible marks."

Dokgo Jin gave little heed to the praise. Instead, his sharp eyes swept the immediate surroundings, a subtle crease forming between his brows. Strange.

The small landing where Jin So stood was a dead end. There were no further hallways, nor any iron gates leading deeper into the complex. Turning back to the vice-commander, Dokgo Jin asked, "Where is the Third Gate?"

"You seem to have heard that the Dragon Tiger Pavilion consists of three gates," Jin So replied, his tone growing serious. "However, the Third Gate is an extraordinary trial. You are under no obligation to take it."

Dokgo Jin's eyes flashed with interest. "An extraordinary trial?"

"Regardless of whether you attempt it, your performance today guarantees you the highest rank possible for a new recruit. Even so, do you still wish to challenge the Third Gate?"

Ordinarily, recruits were never ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even granted the opportunity to challenge the final trial. Only those whose prowess was thoroughly acknowledged by the examiners of the first two gates were given the right to even consider it.

"Naturally."

"With your skills, confidence is only natural," Jin So said, his brow furrowing slightly. "Yet personally, I must advise against it. The Third Gate... demands that you wager your life."

Dokgo Jin's gaze sharpened. "That only piques my curiosity further."

"Heh, you certainly don't lack nerve. Very well. I pray we meet again alive."

With those words, Jin So reached out and pressed a hidden indentation on the left wall.

Click!

Rumble!

With a heavy clatter of gears, a section of the stone floor to the right slid open, revealing a steep stone staircase descending into the depths below.

A hidden mechanism in a place like this...? Dokgo Jin thought. While the exterior appeared simple, constructing a subterranean mechanism of such scale and precision required consummate engineering. This brief encounter yielded valuable intelligence: Someone in the Northern Heavenly Alliance possesses profound knowledge of mechanical traps. Even if not an alliance member directly, they certainly commanded the services of a master craftsman.

Jin So gestured toward the dark descent. "Head down those stairs. The examiner for the Third Gate awaits you below."

"Understood."

With a nod, Dokgo Jin descended without hesitation. Behind him, the stone floor rumbled shut, sealing the staircase from above.

Left alone, Jin So murmured under his breath, "To dismantle our main unit so effortlessly in total darkness... isn't he a talent tailor-made for our Flying Shadow Banner?"

Unlike the other branches among the Four Banners of the Northern Heavens, the Flying Shadow Banner functioned as a specialized wing dedicated to assassination, espionage, and rear-guard disruption. It was only natural for Jin So to covet such an operative. Yet Dokgo Jin was a recruit personally claimed by the Iron Soul Unit Leader; a mere vice-commander of the Wind Sword Unit had no authority to poach him.

Still, that did not mean all avenues were closed.

I must report this to the Banner Leader, Jin So resolved with a sly glint in his eyes.

Following the winding stone steps downward, Dokgo Jin arrived in a colossal subterranean stone chamber. The air hung damp and frigid, devoid of any ornate decoration—a bleak, hollow cavern carved straight from the bedrock.

"Hnnn-gghk! Zzzz..."

Dead in the center of this barren expanse, sprawled out atop a raised wooden platform draped in a tiger pelt, lay an elderly man, snoring away to the heavens.

Dokgo Jin tilted his head, utterly perplexed. What is this?

Jin So had explicitly stated that this was the Third Gate, so there was no question of having taken a wrong turn. Yet aside from this sleeping elder, the vast chamber was completely empty.

Which means this old man is the examiner of the Third Gate.

Yet his current display defied belief. Far from waiting with martial solemnity, he was fast asleep, rattling the cavern walls with his snores. A faint frown creased Dokgo Jin's forehead. To think the legendary Third Gate would be this lax.

A mild wave of disappointment in the Northern Heavenly Alliance washed over him. Shaking his head, he stepped forward to wake the slumbering elder.

However, the moment he closed the distance to thirty paces, Dokgo Jin's feet froze in place.

"......"

His gaze shifted, reassessing the figure before him with newfound gravity.

The old man was undeniably asleep. Yet as Dokgo Jin stepped closer, the intangible weight of the space the elder occupied pressed down upon him like a suffocating tide.

If I take even one more step...

An instinctual premonition warned him that an invisible wave of lethal saber qi would shear him in two. Only then did his eyes fall upon the colossal weapon resting casually beside the platform.

It was no ordinary saber. With a hilt measuring three feet and a massive blade spanning five feet, it was an immense Horse-Chopping Saber. The weapon was so gargantuan that an ordinary warrior would struggle merely to lift it, let alone wield it in battle.

Yet the weapon itself was secondary. What truly mattered was the master who commanded it.

Surpassing the Peak Realm... a master of the Martial Soul Realm!

An intense, vibrant gleam ignited within Dokgo Jin's eyes. To think such a terrifying saber master resided within the Northern Heavenly Alliance.

He rapidly combed through his memory of the alliance's renowned powerhouses, yet none matched the appearance of this rugged elder. An involuntary sense of respect welled within him. So this is the hidden depth of the Northern Hegemon...

Be that as it may, completing the trial remained his immediate objective. Rather than taking another step forward, Dokgo Jin projected a single, needle-thin thread of killing intent straight toward the platform.

"—!"

As if struck by lightning, the snoring old man snapped his eyes wide open.

"Nnngh..."

Pushing himself upright, the elder rubbed his bleary eyes, glancing around the chamber with a dazed expression before finally spotting Dokgo Jin standing across the stone floor.

"Ah, is the examination already finished?"

"......"

"Well? How was he? That fellow named Dokgo Jin?"

A wry chuckle escaped Dokgo Jin's lips. "I am Dokgo Jin."

"You're Dokgo Jin?" The old man blinked once, twice, and then nodded in realization. "Ah, so you've come to challenge the Third Gate."

"Indeed."

"Hahaha! Well, forgive this old man his rudeness." The elder offered an awkward, sheepish grin, scratching his messy hair. "It's so exceptionally rare for the Third Gate of the Dragon Tiger Pavilion to open that I assumed today would be no different, and so..."

"And so you took a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nap?"

"Now hold on, a nap? I was merely engaged in brief, deep meditation..."

"You were snoring loud enough to shake the rafters."

"...You've got an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠unnecessarily sharp pair of ears, young fellow."

With a quiet grunt, the old man slowly rose from the tiger-pelt platform. It was nothing more than a simple, casual motion, yet the sheer martial presence expanding from his frame instantly filled the colossal stone chamber to bursting, pressing against the walls like an encroaching mountain.

His atmosphere has completely transformed.

The haze in the elder's gaze had vanished without a trace. In its place remained deep, tranquil eyes—the gaze of a battle-hardened veteran who had weathered countless storms of blood and steel, utterly devoid of any jest.

"A pleasure to meet you, Dokgo Jin. This old man is the Chief Instructor of the Martial Training Hall and the Master of the Dragon Tiger Pavilion, Paeng Jin-ak."