The First Hurdle: Strength
Bukjin gasped for air, like a man who had barely escaped a tiger's den.
'The Im family members are all monsters.'
When Bukjin returned to the room where the 3rd Academy students were, Cho Heun and the others rushed over to greet him. Only after confirming Bukjin's safe return did the 3rd Academy students finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Who was that powerful individual in that room just now?" Baek Hae-geum couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked.
Bukjin replied, "Think for yourself."
"Hmm... Principal Im? Or Teacher Jeong? City Lord Im?" Baek Geum-un listed the names of Unmong City's masters she knew.
Bukjin sat down, downed three cups of jade-spring wine one after another, and then chuckled, amused. "Think again!"
"..." Baek Geum-un jumped up and slapped Bukjin's back.
Seeing this, the 3rd Academy students burst into laughter. After that, no one asked Bukjin about the identity of the master, and Bukjin said nothing more about it.
Im Ji hadn't revealed his true appearance because he didn't want people to know his identity. No, perhaps he was exercising self-restraint, or there might have been another reason Bukjin didn't know. Whatever the reason, now that things had come to this, Bukjin couldn't open his mouth and expose his identity.
The 3rd Academy students resumed their interrupted meal. Bukjin, once again, drank three cups of wine by himself. He was already a little tipsy.
When the banquet ended and it was time to pay, everyone exchanged unspoken signals without the slightest hesitation. They then ordered three times the amount of food and wine they had just consumed, packed it up, and each took their share before leaving. Even the usually earnest students, Han Bul-bu and Ak Hong-hyang, participated, seemingly having learned bad habits from associating with Bukjin's group.
As Bukjin staggered back to the 3rd Academy, his mind, clouded by alcohol, suddenly stumbled upon a question.
'Im Ji couldn't have been drinking alone at Manseung-ru just out of boredom. He said last time that he hadn't touched alcohol since joining the army.'
When Bukjin had entered Im Ji's room and faced him, he had seen not only food but also alcohol laid out on the table.
'Someone in that room was definitely drinking.'
But by the time Bukjin entered the room, that unknown person had already left.
'Who was with Im Ji at Manseung-ru tonight? What kind of person was it that Im Ji, who criticizes even Baekun City without a care, would personally go to Manseung-ru to entertain?'
These questions lingered in Bukjin's mind until he arrived at Juk-won.
Bukjin went up to his bedroom, flopped onto his bed, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
At the same time, atop the bamboo forest outside Juk-won, on a bamboo leaf swaying in the wind, a figure stood upright. As if unaffected by gravity, the figure swayed gently with the bamboo leaf. His green hair and eyebrows shimmered softly in the moonlight.
He had followed Bukjin from Manseung-ru to Juk-won. Only after Bukjin arrived at Juk-won could he finally relax.
"What a truly good child."
The figure smiled and descended gracefully from the bamboo. With his hair fluttering in the wind, the figure with a faint smile slowly walked out of the bamboo forest.
Just as he took a step—
CRUNCH!
BANG!
The figure stepped on something, and before he could even identify what it was, green smoke began to rise.
"Ugh! Where is this awful smell coming from?! What is it? Argh! Poison!"
The figure stumbled, then quickly dashed out of the bamboo forest.
The next day.
"Ugh, did I just fall asleep as soon as I got back?" Bukjin's yawn echoed through Juk-won. He had slept so deeply that he wouldn't have noticed if someone had carried him away.
"Wang Chung! Why didn't you wake me up!" Bukjin summoned his butler, Wang Chung, and began to scold him.
Wang Chung replied, looking wronged, "Young Master, you returned drunk last night and immediately fell asleep. You looked very tired, so..."
"From now on, no matter how late I return or how tired I am, you must wake me! Understand!" Bukjin said in a stern voice.
Wang Chung nodded frantically.
Bukjin turned his head to look at Cheon-cheon and Cheong-cheong and said, "You two, you didn't do anything... like that while I was sleeping last night, did you?"
Hearing Bukjin's words, the two maids blushed and said, "Young Master, we merely helped you change your clothes."
"Ah, ah!" Bukjin said, looking embarrassed. "From now on, do not approach me when I'm not in my right mind. And changing my clothes is also forbidden!"
"Understood, Young Master," the two maids replied, their faces still flushed.
Bukjin turned his head again to look at A-kwang, who was doing his homework in a corner, and asked, "How much has that fellow learned to read now?"
"Young Master, A-kwang is truly intelligent. He has already memorized twenty characters."
"Twenty characters in one day? From today, double his homework."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Squeak?" A-kwang made a surprised expression.
A-kwang, the king of the Ghost Rats, was already suffering the pains of studying.
Bukjin continued, "Wang Chung. What about the herbs I asked you to buy?"
Wang Chung looked pitiful and said, "Young Master, the money you gave me was too little. Therefore, I had to ask for help from others to barely acquire all the herbs you commanded. I even ended up owing three gold coins. Young Master, could you please settle this debt for me?"
Bukjin looked surprised, as if Wang Chung had said something absurd. "Why should I settle a debt you incurred with your own abilities? Figure out a way yourself."
Wang Chung hung his head dejectedly and replied, "Yes... I will find a way." As he spoke, Wang Chung reached into his pocket and fiddled with the hundreds of gold coins he had won at the gambling house yesterday. He was already planning where to bet big in today's second martial arts test of the Academic & Martial Arts Competition to earn a fortune.
"Separate the acquired herbs by their components and grind them into powder. I will process them tonight when I return."
After giving his orders, Bukjin washed his face, ate breakfast, and headed to the academy. He met Baek Geum-un, Ak Hong-hyang, and Han Bul-bu, who were waiting, and they boarded a carriage, setting off for the National Imperial Junior Academy.
The second martial arts test, the climax of the Academic & Martial Arts Competition, was about to begin!
"The first hurdle of the martial arts test is strength."
At the National Imperial Junior Academy, Lee Ung-bu, the Director of the Unmong City Education Office, spoke loudly from the podium.
"The method is very simple. You just have to lift a cauldron."
A commotion erupted among the students at his words.
The martial arts test of the Academic & Martial Arts Competition, held annually, was divided into categories such as strength, swordsmanship, footwork, elixirs, Mystic Gate, and Hyeongi. The classification of these test contents was relatively fixed.
However, the specific methods for passing these categories varied each year. The detailed test methods were uniformly decided by the Pung-eo-haeng-do Education Office, and no one knew their content or methods until the day of the test. The students themselves only learned about the test methods on the day it was held.
This year's test method for assessing strength was to lift a cauldron. In fact, this test method had been used in previous Academic & Martial Arts Competitions. The strength required to lift one cauldron was called Iljeongjiryuk , or "one cauldron's worth of strength," which translated to 500 geun (approximately 500 pounds). Thus, two cauldrons were 1,000 geun, and three cauldrons, or Samjeongjiryuk , were 1,500 geun. It was a very simple method where the required strength increased with the number of cauldrons.
There was one rule for the strength test: students had to use only their pure physical strength to lift the cauldrons, and the explosive power of Hyeongi was forbidden. It was a test method that allowed for no cheating or trickery.
The testing ground was set up in the 1st Martial Arts Hall of the National Imperial Junior Academy. Inside the 1st Martial Arts Hall, the Education Office's masters had already installed a Geumhyeonjinbeop , or 'Mystic Sealing Formation'. Upon entering this formation, warriors below the Grandmaster Rank would be unable to use their Hyeongi.
"Wow, it's so luxurious."
"This is truly a perfect training environment!"
"It's so much better than our academy!"
Many students from academies other than the Imperial Junior Academy exclaimed in admiration. Bukjin, Baek Geum-un, and the others also couldn't help but marvel as soon as they entered the Martial Arts Hall, looking around.
'As expected, an Imperial Academy is an Imperial Academy. It's on a completely different level from our 3rd Academy. We only have a few outdoor training grounds...'
Upon entering the grand hall, Bukjin could feel a strange power flowing within it. It was like a subtle pressure diffused in the air, and Bukjin felt his Hyeongi sink heavily, as if it had fallen into hibernation.
'They called it the Mystic Sealing Formation? It's truly fascinating.'
In the center of the grand hall, on a wide, empty space, a total of nine cauldrons were placed. All nine cauldrons were round, golden, and had three legs at the bottom. The surface of each cauldron was rough, and a number was embossed prominently on a visible part. The nine cauldrons varied in size and the numbers engraved on them, but all other aspects of their shape were identical.
"Everyone, draw lots and pick your number ticket! Line up one by one in the order of the numbers you picked and participate in the test! Cutting in line or disrupting the atmosphere of the testing ground will not be tolerated! If any student cheats or violates the rules of the testing ground, the examiner will immediately revoke their test qualification! Now, let the test begin!"
The chief examiner for this test was Lee Cheong-hyeon, an inspector from the Education Office.
This test, like yesterday's, was being broadcast live through a Mystic Gate Formation to twenty-one giant crystal screens installed throughout Unmong City. Countless eyes were fixed on the crystal screens. Tens of thousands of citizens residing in Unmong City were watching the test live. The broadcast had already begun.
The sixty-two genius students each drew their number tickets. Then, they lined up in the order of the numbers they had drawn.