Episode 24
Episode 24
Translation: Godtl
After sending Ju-rin back, night fell, and this time, someone moved within the lodging of Group Four.
A man in black night-robes, concealing his presence as he shifted his steps.
The man was none other than Cheon Mu-jin.
'If we proceed with the Cooperative Battle in our current state, our group will undoubtedly face defeat.'
Nearly half their members were incapacitated by injuries, rendering them nearly unfit for combat. Naturally, if one had to pick the top candidate for first-round elimination, it would be his group.
But was he supposed to stand idly by and wait to be eliminated?
That wasn't the kind of man Cheon Mu-jin was. Therefore, this time, he intended to step forward himself and level the playing field.
'Directly targeting the Group Leaders is too risky. But their underlings? That's another story.'
He could easily infiltrate and injure them. After all, he had no intention of harming the Group Leaders directly.
Stepping silently into the lodging, Cheon Mu-jin retrieved an item from his robes.
Night-vision goggles—something he had purchased in advance, thinking they might come in handy. Originally, they were equipment meant for securing visibility in dark, cave-like Gates.
Though they were expensive, as an aspiring Hunter, there was no reason he couldn't afford them.
More importantly, he had bought them precisely for situations like this.
The moment he put on the goggles, the interior of the lodging became perfectly clear. A quick glance revealed that most were already deep in sleep.
He had considered burning sleep-inducing incense but dismissed the idea, deeming it unnecessary trouble.
The first target was the lodging where Cheon Gi-baek resided.
After the groups had been divided, the lodgings had been reassigned accordingly.
'Should I have expected this?'
Cheon Gi-baek had prepared an extravagant bed at the highest spot and was currently sleeping there.
Since he had no intention of going that far, he proceeded with his task in relatively good spirits. The first to receive his attention were the sleeping students.
Immediately, he drew acupuncture needles from his robes, targeting pressure points to damage their muscle meridians.
So far, he had never openly displayed his knowledge of acupuncture within the Demon Path Pavilion.
Naturally, tracking down the assailant would be difficult.
More importantly, after Cheon Yu-rin had pulled such a trick, sitting back and taking it quietly didn't sit right with his temperament. If she struck first, he'd return the favor tenfold.
And so, he damaged the muscle meridians of all of Cheon Gi-baek's subordinates. Next, he did the same to Cheon Yu-rin's and Cheon Ha-na's followers.
He left Cheon Yeon-hwa's subordinates untouched.
Breaking into the female students' quarters was far too risky, and for now, Cheon Yeon-hwa was in the same group as him.
Since her followers were his temporary allies, there was no need to injure them—at least not yet.
If they ended up on opposing sides later, that would be another matter.
'With this, the battle will effectively be decided by the Group Leaders' martial prowess.'
Most of the subordinates were now nearly incapacitated. As a result, Group Four—where he and Cheon Yeon-hwa were placed—would hold a comparative advantage.
And if he factored in Ye-ryeong as well, the battle between the lieutenants was bound to be quite thrilling.
And so, dawn broke.
The day the Cooperative Battle would begin.
***
On the morning the Cooperative Battle commenced, Flame Emperor, the Hall Master of the Demon Path Pavilion overseeing the trial, couldn't suppress a smirk as he watched the students gather.
The fact that most of them appeared limping was proof enough that covert skirmishes had taken place overnight.
'It seems very few of them expected to take this trial peacefully within the Demon Path Pavilion.'
Perhaps that was only natural.
Expecting a fair and ordinary test in a place like this—one that wasn't even part of the Righteous Faction—was downright foolish.
Internally satisfied, he silently praised this batch of students as excellent.
Cheon Mu-jin shared similar thoughts.
Training in a place like this was far better for honing one's strength. Unless it was a direct violation of the rules, this was practically an unspoken declaration that they would turn a blind eye.
His gaze drifted toward Cheon Yu-rin, standing in a corner.
Judging by her expression, she seemed somewhat irritated. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, her annoyance seeped through.
For instance—'I was the one who sent assassins, so why are my subordinates in this state too?'
The realization that she wasn't the only one who had thought of this must have infuriated her.
And in truth, she was right.
Cheon Yu-rin was inwardly fuming.
'Damn it...'
Just who the hell had done the exact same thing as her?
She couldn't even blame her surroundings—she had only confided in Ju-rin, her closest maid, so there was no way the information could have leaked.
Meaning this was either retaliation or psychological warfare in response to what she had done earlier.
Operating in the shadows wasn't easy, so she had planned to send assassins to one group per night. Yet, as if to mock her, someone had already struck all the other groups with mysterious assassinations.
Cheon Yu-rin subtly glanced at Cheon Mu-jin.
The most suspicious one is that bastard.
Cheon Gi-baek wasn't clever enough to plan something like injuring disciples in the dead of night. If anything, he'd be more likely to try assassinating someone who pissed him off.
Cheon Ha-na?
She might be sharp, but it was unlikely the Blade Demon Clan had raised assassins of that caliber.
Cheon Yeon-hwa was out of the question—that stupid bitch had already handed her position over to Cheon Mu-jin.
In the end, the most likely culprit was Cheon Mu-jin. But the question remained—how had he done it?
'There's no way he had followers inside the Demon Path Pavilion beforehand. Did he... move personally?'
For a moment, she entertained the thought—that Cheon Mu-jin had acted alone to inflict those injuries.
But she quickly dismissed it.
'That's absurd. Sure, he's grown stronger recently, but there's no way he's mastered assassination techniques.'
It was impossible for one person to injure all the remaining factions in a single night.
Unless he could move freely through the darkness.
Which meant... there might be an unknown master among the four groups—someone who didn't bow to the Four Great Clans.
Whoever it is...
'I'll catch them and make them pay.'
But regardless of her resolve, the frustration remained.
If she didn't vent it on someone, this rage would never fade.
***
The exam began under Flame Emperor's guidance.
The first match was between Group Four, led by Cheon Mu-jin, and Group Two, commanded by Cheon Yu-rin.
The winner of this trial would advance to the third stage, while the losers would face off in a revival match among themselves.
After that, three out of the four groups would proceed to the next exam.
"All groups participating in the trial, take your positions in the training grounds!"
At Flame Emperor's shout, the limping disciples shuffled into place.
Once the disciples had moved, the group leaders stepped forward.
Cheon Mu-jin had Ye-ryeong glued to his side, while Cheon Yu-rin was flanked by Ju-rin.
Standing among the disciples, Cheon Yeon-hwa wore a deeply sullen expression.
Even as a descendant of the Cheon Family, she hadn't secured a position as a group leader or even a close aide—something that clearly gnawed at her.
Once the disciples had lined up, Flame Emperor's voice, infused with Internal Energy, boomed across the hall as he announced the rules.
"The Cooperative Battle is simple! Each group will form a formation, and the side that subdues the opposing group wins!"
The moment Flame Emperor finished speaking, the two groups moved to their respective positions.
Cheon Yu-rin was the first to speak.
"Left flank—five steps! Right flank—three!"
It was unclear what formation this was, but she seemed to have a plan of her own.
But Cheon Mu-jin wasn't one to stand idle.
His side held the advantage in strength. The other group had no notable fighters besides Cheon Yu-rin—Ju-rin was practically already on his side.
On top of that, his group had Ye-ryeong and Cheon Yeon-hwa besides himself.
If they dragged this out, victory was inevitable.
"Mirror their movements! Left flank—five! Right flank—three!"
As both sides matched each other, the frontlines clashed.
"Don't push!"
"Move aside! Stop colliding!"
Iron shields crashed together, ringing with an ear-splitting screech.
CLANG!
Neither side could fight at full strength anyway. What truly mattered here was the duel between the group leaders.
His task was simple.
In front of all the disciples, he had to crush Cheon Yu-rin—decisively.
The implications were drastic. Already, Ye-ryeong's presence had made him a target of suspicion.
But after this, he'd be directly breaking a descendant of the Cheon Family. That meant he had to solidify his support base.
No more hiding in the shadows. This was a declaration—he was competing for the Young Cult Leader's seat.
Knowing this, Cheon Mu-jin charged straight at Cheon Yu-rin.
Cheon Yu-rin's weapon was the sword.
Fighting her with finger techniques would be difficult, so he had to close the distance.
Publicly, his primary martial art was Thunder Energy—nothing more. He had no reputation for specializing in any particular technique.
How would Cheon Yu-rin, a swordswoman, respond?
CLANG! CRACK!
His fist, wrapped in fierce energy, collided with Cheon Yu-rin's blade.
This was a pure contest of Internal Energy.
"So you're going all-out from the start?"
"Something like that."
TING! CRACK!
Fist and sword clashed several more times.
Internally, he'd already reached a conclusion.
In a pure battle of Internal Energy, his chances of defeating Cheon Yu-rin were slim.
But he still had a trump card.
A hidden move he could use the moment Cheon Yu-rin assumed this was his limit.
"Is this all you've got?"
Just as expected, Cheon Yu-rin let out a derisive laugh as she blocked his fist with her sword.
Her mocking expression said it all—everything is going exactly as I predicted.
And that was the opportunity he'd been waiting for.
"You think that's everything?"
Cheon Yu-rin would never anticipate why he'd pushed this far.
"What—?"