Life and Death Trial
Jegal Yeong-yeong scanned Baek Yuseong's eyes.
'Since he's a physician, he probably doesn't want to do something like this. Forcing his body to be injured just to gain enlightenment?'
Baek Yuseong had a history of getting angry at Han Bu-geom.
Too bad. If he doesn't want this, it has to be scrapped.
He cannot argue with him over creating a few masters.
Yet...
"All right."
He agreed without hesitation.
"W-what? Are you really okay?"
"Yes. Just know that something may happen. I don't have enough strength right now. I can't treat anyone who's cut off or dead."
He had already considered that thoroughly.
Jegal Yeong-yeong opened her mouth, then froze.
'Hold on... right now...? Then maybe it could change later?'
She had treated a blinded eye and saved someone dying. But how could she reattach a severed limb, let alone bring back someone who had already died?
'It's impossible.'
She shook her head and spoke again.
"I'm also concerned about that part. If I don't screen carefully, an unexpected accident could happen. That's why I only want supporters for those who have no choice."
Someone might be desperate for a realm breakthrough at the cost of their life. Even Jeong Rip, before meeting Yuseong, had been on death's door. Anyone who would accept this trial just to pass the wall...
The goal is to give this opportunity to those who volunteer.
Of course, it would strengthen the Murim Alliance.
"A desperate person. All right."
"Is it all right to schedule the trial during business hours?"
"Business hours?"
"In the evening you're always busy. You have research and everything else..."
She knew better than anyone how busy Yuseong was.
After leaving the clinic, he trains with Namgung Yurin and researches poisons with Tang Harin. Plus formations with Jegal Yeong-yeong.
And the clinic itself? Yang Yi-won is away, so it's back to just Cha Yi-won. Even so, he handles more night shifts, making it hard to spend time together.
According to the secretary, Cha Yi-won said he would take on all the night shifts, but could he really manage that alone?
When there are no patients, he rests and sleeps in the clinic, but...
She had been trying to fill Yang Yi-won's empty spot.
Now that Yuseong's responsibilities were increasing, this was the perfect time to add more staff to the clinic.
"Since Doctor Yang is away, shall I select a few more doctors? I wanted to ask your opinion, Physician Cha. Are there any doctors you already know?"
The doctors she had befriended at the Luoyang medical hall had all been brought to the clinic.
"None. I'll handle it myself at the military department."
"Good. Just let me know if you find anyone you don't like."
The trial was called the Life and Death Trial, a name even more terrifying than Life-and-Death Combat, where one person must die.
They discussed several details with Jegal Yeong-yeong.
***
Murim Alliance.
A group gathered for the greater good.
But the reason a group like the Murim Alliance can endure is money, even before the greater good.
Even the gatekeepers guarding the alliance headquarters won't do their job properly without fair pay.
How can loyalty arise when the basics of eating and living aren't solved?
Imagine a warrior burning with a sense of justice and working for free.
Even he couldn't truly contribute to the Murim Alliance.
His family? Who would support them? In the end, enough money must be given.
That was why Jegal Yeong-yeong had been troubled by the financial issue.
"This is the remaining money after we found the original owner."
The next day after asking Yuseong about the Life and Death Trial, the finance manager distributed documents to everyone at the meeting.
They shared an overview of the rare treasures found in the Unyielding Spear Tomb.
"Wow, the Murim Alliance will be set for decades."
"The treasures inside must be worth a fortune. Yeah, even the luminous pearl stuck in the cave had so many people wanting it because of its mystery."
"This Unyielding Spear Tomb is completely looted inside. It's really gone."
After the shock passed, the elders began discussing how to use the funds they had just received to organize the Murim Alliance.
"We should increase the number of warriors. Haven't there been many regions that had to be left unguarded because of a shortage of manpower?"
"With more warriors, we can exert greater influence. We might even gain the upper hand against the evil factions rampaging in the southern regions."
The elders each gave their opinions.
Some were wrong, but not all.
It was true that increasing influence and gaining the upper hand against evil factions was possible to some extent.
However, there was one thing that everyone knew but no one had brought up because they didn't have a clear solution.
Jegal Yeong-yeong took one step forward.
"Ahem, I have one thing to say, elders."
"Go ahead, Chief Military Advisor."
"Warriors should of course be increased, but we need to increase the number of masters as well."
"Hng..."
An immediate groan came out.
Increasing warriors and increasing masters are two different things.
To be called a master, one needs at least Peak Master.
Many try to learn martial arts, but few reach the Peak Master realm.
A single Peak Master has the strength of a small sect leader.
That's why the elders looked at her with difficult eyes.
One elder from Hwasan Sect secretly said,
"Hah, it's already reaching the limit of supporting masters from each sect. They have their own activities to do. If we request more, they might get upset."
Elders from non-orthodox sects or clans nodded.
Previously, they had received support from the Nine Great Factions or the Five Great Clans.
Their strength wasn't weak at all, and they had sent several Peak Masters and Transcendental Masters.
But to show off their power and influence around the sect, each sect needed some masters to stay and handle various tasks.
The Hwasan elder had taken the lead by saying they couldn't support more masters before Jegal Yeong-yeong could.
"I fully understand that it's difficult to get more support from each sect. I wasn't thinking about places that send volunteers voluntarily, like Cheongseong Sect, the Sichuan Tang Clan, or Namgung Clan."
"Heh."
The Hwasan elder cleared his throat.
Because those three places had been sending more warriors than others.
The support Yuseong had obtained.
If that support increased, maybe, but masters couldn't be supplied overnight.
Seeing some elders secretly avoiding her eyes, Jegal Yeong-yeong revealed the story she had prepared.
The relatively unknown Han Bu-geom incident.
And the matter discussed with Yuseong.
After the discussion ended, the elders showed interest.
"There really was someone who gained enlightenment that way?"
"Fearless, but his determination is amazing. The Physician Cha must have been confident he could save him."
"He lost his sight in one eye and recovered it after treatment from Physician Cha."
"Huh. Understood. But even if it's a real-life trial, with Physician Cha backing him... enlightenment won't come easily unless it's a real crisis."
One elder raised a question, and another refuted it.
"Um, the innate fear of death in humans isn't that easy to erase. Think about a sword stabbing straight into your heart. Don't you think you'll think of your death before anything else? Even with Physician Cha, that's the case."
After much discussion, the side that it was worth trying won out.
Everyone agreed that only supporters could be accepted.
***
One day on the bulletin board at the Murim Alliance.
"They're taking supporters for the Life and Death Trial? It's not even Life-and-Death Combat. What is this?"
"Read the bottom. It says they're holding the trial in front of Physician Cha this time."
"Eh... really? They're supporting people who are close to Life-and-Death Combat to break through the limit... But does this even make sense?"
First-class warrior Jo Chi-seong lowered his voice.
"Haven't you heard about the people assigned to Guangxi Fen Ta?"
"Aigoo, that's a place where people just die going in. I didn't care, but why?"
"Those people were assigned there because of the Life and Death Trial held without prior notice during Physician Cha's shift. The guy who bragged about it was someone from the Sichuan Fen Ta who called himself Han Bu-geom. He said he got enlightenment to reach Transcendence."
"Really?"
"Can't be false. No one would spread a lie that could be exposed quickly, and he probably did gain something. So... want to apply with me?"
"...You and me?"
The two of them were first-class warriors facing the same wall at the Peak Master realm.
It clearly said to support trials between people of similar levels, yet...
"We've done dozens of sparring matches together, haven't we? What could change?"
"This is frustrating. At least we stopped before hurting each other. Is that the same as this? It says if you don't die, he'll save you! It's about supporting people to break through the limit of the moment of death!"
"Ah... but isn't this dangerous? It says here that it might be dangerous..."
"As long as Physician Cha is there, you won't die. Are you going to stand in front of the Peak Master wall for the rest of your life?"
The two had been stuck at the Peak Master wall for over five years.
A wall that training to death couldn't break.
Something was needed.
"...No way."
Jo Chi-seong lured a fellow warrior to write the application together.