Heavenly Mountain Incident 3
Midway through the Hour of the Rabbit, Shin Gi-woon's eyes opened of their own accord and he rose from the bed. For reasons he couldn't explain, his body always woke naturally at this hour.
He stretched and stepped outside his quarters. The place that had been painted in blood only yesterday had been scrubbed spotless.
It was a little unsettling, knowing so many had died here. But in the end, it was still a place where people lived.
Shin Gi-woon sat cross-legged right where he stood and began circulating his qi. He'd calculated the odds of an ambush and chosen this deliberately.
If anything, he hoped someone would come at him. Better to thin out the competition — or the enemies — early. That said, he had no intention of indiscriminate slaughter.
Enemies were everywhere, but this was still nominally a contest for Young Leader. Climb to the position through a massacre, and who would ever recognize it?
After meditating for some time, he sensed someone approaching. No killing intent. Once they drew near enough, he recognized who it was.
"What is it?"
"I'm Dan Jung-ho. You're Shin Gi-woon, the youngest Extreme Demon master?"
"I am. An honor to meet you. I've heard a great deal about you from your father. He called you a wastrel of a son."
"My father said that?"
It was Dan Jung-ho. He'd approached Shin Gi-woon unarmed. He had to know the full situation.
Did he think playing dumb would keep him alive? An interesting type, at least.
"What are you thinking?"
"About what?"
"I could kill you right here, right now. Is your life that cheap to you?"
"I knew you wouldn't. There's no word of you having a particularly foul character."
"My character isn't foul, no. But do I look like someone who shows mercy to his enemies?"
Shin Gi-woon's eyes flushed red — the look of a man who could kill you this instant. But Dan Jung-ho just smiled and weathered the killing intent.
As if he'd expected exactly this. Shin Gi-woon's interest was piqued.
"So you're no wastrel after all. What's your purpose?"
"Recruitment. Interested? Joining us."
Time to revise the assessment. This bastard was an idiot. He put on a show of reading the room, but in reality he understood nothing.
"Don't test my patience. I'll spare you today. But if you come at me like this again—"
"...!"
"You die."
Shin Gi-woon unleashed his killing intent in earnest. Dan Jung-ho flinched and stumbled back, unable to withstand the dense aura of an Extreme Demon master.
His face twisted beyond recognition, Dan Jung-ho retreated to his quarters. Finally figured out his place, maybe.
An enemy was an enemy. Not someone you recruited — a mortal foe you threw everything into killing.
Trying to recruit someone without even understanding that? There were idiots, and then there was this. The brief spark of interest had curdled into pure absurdity.
"Haa... just ruined my mood."
So much for a refreshing morning. In a foul mood, he returned to his quarters and lay down. All sorts of thoughts began bubbling up unbidden.
How long ago had he steeled his resolve? And already, having reached Extreme Demon, he'd grown lazy. He ought to be training even in moments like these — yet somehow, his body wouldn't move.
Something big would blow up soon enough. One part of him said he needed to train harder to prepare. Another said he needed to keep his body in peak condition.
If he overtrained and took an internal injury, he wouldn't be able to perform when the real fight came.
He no longer acted alone. As the leader of the Myeolcheon Squad, every move he made carried weight.
Of course, that was just an excuse for laziness. Maybe he simply didn't feel like training.
"What do you think?"
"About what."
"About me right now. My motivation just vanished all of a sudden."
"That's just life. Can a person stay motivated all the time? Even without some dramatic event, people change moment to moment. This is just part of the process."
"Getting advice from something that isn't even human is pretty weird, though."
"What was that, you bastard?"
"Still... you have no idea how glad I am that you're here."
If he hadn't met Ryu-jin during the second trial of Jamma Cave, Shin Gi-woon might never have made it this far.
Never mind the realm advancement — he would have been wiped out during the third trial, the operation to rescue Unit Commander Gam Jeong-hyeon.
Even if he'd survived that, he would have been helpless against the techniques of the Eleven Martial Generals. Ryu-jin was practically a part of him now.
"You can read my memories, so you know about him, right? My master."
"Why the sudden talk about your master?"
"Every time my motivation disappeared, my master beat the hell out of me. Said if that was my attitude, I might as well just die."
A fond memory, strangely. He never understood why it hurt so much when his master hit him. The man would go on about striking vital points and pressure points and whatnot.
It was just plain violence. Looking back, maybe that was how he blew off steam. Shin Gi-woon had seen it — his master smiling while he beat him.
"Is he even still alive? I'd like to see him once before I die."
"He's living somewhere, I'm sure. Based on your memories, that man is a Profound Realm master."
"I've known that for a long time. Why a Profound Realm master chose to teach me, though — that's still a complete mystery."
Questions upon questions. What had he hoped to gain by teaching him spear arts? The Battle Demon Spear Sect was a one-man succession, after all.
Ordinary talent could never reach true mastery. Even though Shin Gi-woon had made a name as the greatest spear under heaven — even though he could use the secret principles of the Battle Demon Heavenly Spear — he had never reached its ultimate peak.
Muguk — the Limitless Realm, called the boundary of martial arts itself. Only those who had reached the Profound Realm could even set foot there.
For Shin Gi-woon, that was still a distant story.
"All personnel, assemble!!"
His reverie was cut short. When the assembly order rang out outside, Shin Gi-woon left his quarters.
Most of the contest participants gathered in the plaza had already formed groups. Factions were taking shape already.
Only one person stood alone. That one was Shin Gi-woon.
Every group was watching him warily. As long as he was in the running, they must have decided their odds of winning were zero.
That was fine by him. He had no reason to care about the Seven Great Sects' opinions. Whether they came at him all at once or one by one, he'd just kill them all.
What would the second day's trial be? The first had cost an arm — maybe the second would cost a leg.
As he was guessing at the next trial, Ma Jin-cheon ascended the platform with a stern expression.
"Day two of the Young Leader Contest has dawned. If day one was a proof of martial might, day two will be a test of cooperation."
Contrary to his expectations, this trial was about cooperation. From Shin Gi-woon's perspective that was a setback — but as the details came out, it didn't seem so bad after all.
"The Young Leader is the one who inherits the Cult Leader's seat. He must possess the dignity of a leader who stands at the front and guides the faithful. Therefore, the second trial is... unit command."
A unit command trial.
Instructors would be organized into a simulated unit to complete a single mission. Naturally, the unit commanders would be the contest participants.
Unit members would be assigned at random. Each Young Leader candidate commanding a unit would choose one of the four Great Lords of Guangming Palace and attempt the assault with their subordinate unit until the word "pass" was declared. The instructors playing unit members wouldn't die.
But the contest participants playing commander would die without mercy.
"Thus, both individual skill and the tactics of leading a group will be equally critical. Those who wish to take the trial first, raise your hands."
Of the ninety-nine participants, only one person raised a hand. Of course, it was Shin Gi-woon.
Ma Jin-cheon nodded once, then looked around for other volunteers. No one else raised a hand.
They were all playing it safe, waiting to profit from someone else's attempt.
"Three additional members. Which Great Lord will you challenge?"
"I'll take Great Lord Yeom Gyeong-hong."
"Me, is it? Very well."
Yeom Gyeong-hong rose from his seat. With Shin Gi-woon naturally becoming the first challenger, the other participants stepped back.
Yeom Gyeong-hong stood before him, and at the same time three figures fell in behind Shin Gi-woon. Familiar auras.
Ma Ra-jin, Bi So-hyang, and Sama Yul. Shin Gi-woon sent a sound transmission to Ma Jin-cheon.
"This is supposed to be random? Seems pretty blatant."
"Shouldn't we verify whether the Myeolcheon Squad is a proper unit?"
"A mock battle, then. Understood."
Shin Gi-woon glanced back. His friends greeted him with faces full of barely suppressed laughter.
He almost smiled back, then clenched his jaw. This was an official setting. Making a weird face and sparking favoritism accusations would be a headache he didn't need.
"I'll designate the one who looks good with his fists as One, the archer as Two, and the assassin as Three. That work?"
The three nodded. Yeom Gyeong-hong left the four alone under the pretext of giving them time to plan.
Shin Gi-woon chattered away through sound transmission. He asked Ma Ra-jin about Yeom Gyeong-hong's characteristics, while advising Bi So-hyang and Sama Yul of one thing: support roles only. Under no circumstances were they to intervene in the trial directly.
"Are your preparations complete?"
"Yes."
"Then let us begin."
A thunderous boom shook the ground as Yeom Gyeong-hong stomped out a battle stance, and Shin Gi-woon raised the White Fang Spear — and the curtain rose on the second trial of the Young Leader Contest.