The Five Stars of Jamma 2
Sama Yul joined their training.
She had been hesitant at first, but she settled into the group well enough. Ma Ra-jin deserved most of the credit for that.
The most sociable among them, he had challenged her to a spar the moment he laid eyes on her. The result had been unexpected.
Ma Ra-jin lost.
He couldn't accept the defeat and demanded rematch after rematch. Each time, Sama Yul put him on the ground.
Four ounces moves a thousand pounds.
The principle of governing a thousand catties with a mere four ounces of force ran deep through Sama Yul's martial arts. Against Ma Ra-jin, who prized raw power above all else, it was a perfect counter. As proof, she had lost when she faced Bi So-hyang.
Factoring in the matchups between their styles, their actual skill levels were roughly equal. Just as expected — none of them had disappointed.
"Where the hell did you dig up another monster like this?"
"Figured we should expand our circle before the third exam."
"Ugh… getting overpowered by a girl is humiliating. I just have to train harder!"
Sama Yul became a powerful spur for Ma Ra-jin. The boy who once believed that if strength failed, the answer was simply more strength now made sure to circulate his qi between bouts of external training. Sama Yul, for her part, kept up her own external conditioning to better handle archers like Bi So-hyang.
Time passed, and before long the candidates of Jamma Cave had a name for Shin Gi-woon and his four companions.
The five strongest of Jamma Cave. The Five Stars of Jamma.
"The final gate of Jamma Cave — the third examination — will now be announced! All candidates, assemble in the central plaza!"
The notice rang through the whole of Jamma Cave. At last, the long-awaited final trial was beginning.
Shin Gi-woon left his room fully prepared. The White Fang Spear, which he had left unused throughout training, came with him.
The moment his hand closed around it, the spear thrummed and hummed as if sulking — Why did you ignore me for so long? A divine weapon through and through, clearly.
"I'm only using you for the third exam, so quit complaining."
Shin Gi-woon arrived at the central plaza with a grim set to his face. The rest of the Five Stars had gathered with equal seriousness, nothing like their usual selves.
The last gate. Clear it, and they would finally be able to swear loyalty to the Cult as true demonic martial artists. Claiming they weren't nervous would have been a lie.
"Is everyone here?"
Not long after all one hundred surviving candidates had assembled, Lee Hyeong-seop appeared with a solemn expression.
Right after emerging from closed-door cultivation, his power had been impossible to gauge. Seven months of training later, they could finally take its measure to some degree.
He was a wall. Not yet the kind of opponent you bared your fangs at. Of course he wasn't — he was the commander of the Heavenly Net Black Death Squad.
For reference, the five corps under Guangming Palace, where the Heavenly Demon resided, were as follows:
The Heavenly Net Black Death Squad, which handled the bulk of missions issued from Guangming Palace.
The Demon Emperor Yama Corps, said to be the strongest in pure combat.
The Black Assassin Ghost Shadow Corps, which killed their targets and left no trace.
The Ten Thousand Transformations Soul Pursuit Corps, masters of disguise and tracking.
And the Guangming Guard, charged with the perfect security of Guangming Palace itself.
In practice, the Heavenly Net Black Death Squad carried the heaviest workload of the five. They would never seat some nobody as its commander.
The problem was that said commander was connected to a mysterious organization.
"I will now announce the third examination. First, form twenty teams of five. Do not use force."
Here it came. Shin Gi-woon immediately gathered the Five Stars, and every one of them accepted without hesitation.
They had been the closest five all along — the result was inevitable.
"For the third examination, each team will receive a single directive. Complete that directive by any means necessary, and you pass. There is no time limit. However… if an easy directive is completed far too late, with no end in sight… there will be a price to pay."
The chief instructor's killing intent briefly swept the central plaza, but the candidates were long used to it. It meant nothing to them. Lee Hyeong-seop's smile only deepened.
"Team leaders, come receive your directives."
Naturally, Shin Gi-woon took the role of team leader. The Five Stars had coalesced around him as friends; no one said a word against it.
Having collected the sealed order, Shin Gi-woon put some distance between his team and the others, then carefully unfolded it.
And every one of them, without exception, went pale with shock.
"What kind of insane difficulty is this…"
"One wrong move and we're dead."
"…Is there even a way?"
"No wonder the looks aimed at our team felt off."
The four of them, excluding Shin Gi-woon, twisted their faces. The directive was that absurd.
The sealed order read as follows:
Rescue Gam Jeong-hyeon, Deputy Commander of the Ten Thousand Transformations Soul Pursuit Corps, who has been detained in the secret branch of the Kunlun Sect, and return him safely.
Beneath the directive was a simple sketch map. They had identified the location, but no rescue operation had been launched yet.
Look at this. They're straight-up trying to get us killed.
A secret branch of Kunlun… There would almost certainly be a Transcendent-level master stationed there.
Throwing five junior prospects into a place like that and calling it a mission? They might as well have told them to go die.
The group's expressions were bleak. Se-hwa's was the darkest of all.
Then Ryu-jin suddenly spoke up.
Kunlun Sect — you mean the martial artists based on Kunlun Mountain, right?
Yeah. A secret branch will have security on a completely different level.
Hmm… I've got a feeling there's a hidden passage.
What?
Shin Gi-woon flinched. Come to think of it, Kunlun Mountain was also called a range where immortals dwelled.
An Imugi who sought out sacred energies would almost certainly know the geography of Kunlun Mountain inside and out.
It's too late to ask for a different directive now. If we swap it, we might get something even worse.
Rescuing the deputy commander of the Ten Thousand Transformations Soul Pursuit Corps… It felt like a dubious assignment, but under a superior-subordinate relationship, refusal wasn't an option.
The real question was why, with their own deputy commander kidnapped, the mission was being handed to Jamma Cave candidates instead of the corps itself.
The possibility of a trap couldn't be ruled out. Right now, the only thing Shin Gi-woon could trust was Ryu-jin's word.
You really know about a secret passage?
Of course I do! Back in my younger days I snuck a few of their spirit elixirs— ah, that's a secret.
So you were a delinquent pervert Imugi.
What did you just say?! You finished talking, lizard?!
Ryu-jin decided to save the rest for when it was needed. This was the time for courage.
"What does everyone think? I'm not going to strong-arm you just because I'm team leader—"
"Even if you did strong-arm us, we wouldn't take it."
"Even if you ordered us, nobody here would follow."
"…Same here."
"Haha! The team leader's authority hit rock bottom a long time ago, Gi-woon!"
Shin Gi-woon's eyebrow twitched. So that was the impression he gave them. Still — he supposed he should be grateful they treated him so freely.
"It's going to be dangerous. If a majority agrees, I'll request a mission change."
He put his full sincerity into the words. All four of them shook their heads with faces full of resolve. They meant to carry out this mission.
Then the decision was made — time to move.
"It won't take long to reach Kunlun. Keep travel speed to a minimum and maintain peak physical condition."
If they burned their lightfoot techniques at full tilt, they would arrive at the mission site soon enough. But success demanded they keep their bodies in the best possible state.
There was no telling what might happen.
"Let's go."
The Five Stars of Jamma finally stepped through the main gate of Jamma Cave, bearing an unprecedented mission: the rescue of a deputy commander.
In the worst case… someone could die.
Hoping for a clean, unharmed return was absurd. Someone might be badly wounded — or killed.
But preventing that was a team leader's responsibility, wasn't it? If a moment of absolute crisis came…
No. I won't let it come to that.
Would he just stand by and let them die? No matter what happened, he would never allow it.
With that iron resolve settled in his chest, Shin Gi-woon set his steps toward Kunlun Mountain.
Meanwhile, at Guangming Palace—
"May the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult live for a thousand years, a thousand years, ten thousand years! Lee Hyeong-seop, Commander of the Heavenly Net Black Death Squad, presents himself before the Cult Leader!"
Lee Hyeong-seop slammed his forehead to the floor as he delivered his report to Cheon Yu — Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and the current Heavenly Demon.
Cheon Yu rested his chin on his hand and looked down at Lee Hyeong-seop. The Cult's sole Tal-ma expert, he generated an overwhelming pressure simply by sitting still and gazing downward.
"So, Commander. You set the rescue of the Ten Thousand Transformations Soul Pursuit Corps' deputy commander as Jamma Cave's third examination?"
"Yes, Cult Leader! The Ten Thousand Transformations Soul Pursuit Corps has already surrounded Kunlun's secret branch, so there is no danger whatsoever!!"
A lie carefully mixed with truth. They had only finished pinpointing the exact location. The secret branch had not yet been surrounded.
Could the Heavenly Demon verify the truth himself? With the corps commander away from his post, that was impossible.
Even if the lie were exposed, by then Lee Hyeong-seop would long since have vanished from the Heavenly Mountains.
If those arrogant junior prospects calling themselves the Five Stars of Jamma were disposed of at Kunlun…
Lee Hyeong-seop would no longer need to remain in the Demonic Cult. He would have completed his mission well enough.
The problem was the existence of a variable.
Cheon Yu — Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the current Heavenly Demon.
Knowing the man as he did, Lee Hyeong-seop could not rule out the possibility that Cheon Yu might suddenly storm Kunlun's secret branch himself.
And for good reason.
"I stake my name upon this oath! Lady Se-hwa will return to the Cult unharmed, without fail!!"
"I will trust you, Commander. I hope I will not have to rise from this seat."
"Your grace is boundless!!"
Because the Se-hwa traveling with Shin Gi-woon…
…was Cheon Yu's only daughter, Cheon Se-hwa.