Wings Sprouting From Her Back?
The Chief Supervisor had transformed into a gaunt, middle-aged man with a sinister face. He appeared to be in his early forties, with dark skin, a hooked nose, and thin lips that gave him a stern, unyielding impression.
According to his introduction, his name was Mae Ji-won, an experienced education official whose rank was one level higher than Lee Cheong-hyeon's.
The high-ranking officials departed. The students then headed to the 3rd Martial Arts Arena to begin their examination.
"The first item we will test today is movement technique," Mae Ji-won announced, his face grim. Bukjin thought he looked like someone who was owed a hundred nyang and hadn't been paid back.
"The movement technique test is divided into two parts. The first is to cross a bridge made of paper! Watch closely!"
Chief Supervisor Mae Ji-won pointed in one direction, and the students' gazes followed. In the center of the relatively large arena was a ditch about twenty jang wide and three jang deep. On either side of the ditch were four square, pillar-like rocks. Connecting these square pillars across the ditch were massive paper bridges, each three cheok wide and twenty jang long.
The paper bridges fluttered with every gust of wind, looking as if they could tear at any moment.
Students participating in the test first had to use their learned movement techniques to cross the paper bridge and reach the opposite side. There, they would grab a yellow triangular flag held by an assistant supervisor, then cross the paper bridge back to the starting point to pass. Their final score would be evaluated based on the time taken to complete the round trip and how well the paper bridge remained intact.
"Huh? What's that noise?" Baek Geum-un asked, perking up her ears.
"Look over there! That's... snakes? Vipers! There are so many vipers!" a student suddenly shrieked in alarm.
Bukjin turned his gaze. Inside the deep ditch beneath the paper bridge, thousands upon thousands of vipers of all kinds writhed and coiled. The sight of the slithering mass, hissing and squirming, sent shivers down his spine.
'My god!' Bukjin was utterly shocked.
'What kind of crazy supervisor came up with such an insane test?'
Crossing a paper bridge was one thing, but they could have at least filled the ditch with water. Releasing vipers into it, however, made no sense to Bukjin. He couldn't fathom what the supervisors were thinking, putting students through such a trial.
Other students shared Bukjin's sentiments.
'The Education Bureau people... aren't they going too far?'
'If I fall in there...'
'With that many, even if you're lucky enough to survive a viper bite, you'd be crippled for life!'
In the subsequent lottery, the person who drew number one was none other than Ak Hong-hyang.
Ak Hong-hyang removed all the heavy items and equipment she was carrying, setting them on the ground. Stripped down to her lightest attire, she stood before the paper bridge. Her initial feeling as she looked across was that the twenty-jang distance was incredibly far.
The paper bridge was too thin for a person to stand on. It seemed as though it would tear with even a slightly strong gust of wind.
"Ready!" Chief Supervisor Mae Ji-won shouted loudly.
A tense Ak Hong-hyang quickly began to gather her Hyeongi.
"Go!"
With Mae Ji-won's shout, Ak Hong-hyang unleashed her full Hyeongi and soared onto the paper bridge. She began to dash towards the opposite side at high speed, like an arrow released from a bowstring.
However, the further she moved, the more her body began to descend. Panicked, Ak Hong-hyang channeled a stream of Hyeongi to her toes and lightly stepped on the paper bridge.
At that moment,
Riiip—!
The paper tore straight down the middle.
Ak Hong-hyang used the slight rebound force from stepping on the paper bridge to launch herself upwards, desperately pushing forward. But her strength soon ran out, and with a short scream, Ak Hong-hyang plummeted into the viper pit below.
"Oh, no!"
"This is bad!"
The students watching Ak Hong-hyang's test screamed loudly. Bukjin moved swiftly, ready to dash out and save Ak Hong-hyang.
Just then, a figure from a distance flashed with incredible speed, snatching Ak Hong-hyang's falling body. Simultaneously, he struck the center of the viper pit with the bamboo staff in his hand, using the rebound force to soar back into the air. He moved by stepping on air, rescuing Ak Hong-hyang from danger.
It was Ryu Gye-hae, the supervising teacher of the 3rd Academy.
In fact, before this test began, all the supervising teachers had received a notice: if any of their students fell, they were to immediately step in and rescue them.
"3rd Academy's Ak Hong-hyang. She did not cover half the distance, and the bridge broke, causing her to fall. She is disqualified." Chief Supervisor Mae Ji-won announced the final result.
Disqualified. It meant a score of 0 points.
Ak Hong-hyang sighed upon hearing her score. A dark expression settled on the unmasked half of her face.
Crossing the paper bridge. This test method was incredibly difficult to figure out. It was an impossible feat with Ak Hong-hyang's current Hyeongi cultivation and movement technique.
Ak Hong-hyang's scores in the previous three days of tests, excluding the written exam, hadn't been particularly good. Therefore, with her disqualification from the movement technique test, it was no exaggeration to say she was on the verge of elimination.
Ak Hong-hyang's journey seemed to be reaching its end. Although she had mentally prepared for such a result, she couldn't hide her disappointment now that elimination was truly imminent.
"Next! So So-yeon, step onto the test platform!" Chief Supervisor Mae Ji-won shouted.
So So-yeon, a white-skinned girl in white clothes with long hair cascading to her waist, stepped forward to the paper bridge. Considered a strong contender for victory even before the Academic & Martial Arts Competition began, the genius girl So So-yeon had maintained excellent scores so far. Now, facing the movement technique test, her expression was relatively calm.
Countless eyes focused on So So-yeon. People wondered how she would solve this difficult problem.
"Ready... Go!"
So So-yeon's body pushed off the ground and soared into the air. She floated towards the opposite side with a lightness that seemed almost unaffected by gravity, like a cloud.
When she had moved about three jang in the air, she too couldn't defy the laws of physics forever, and her body slowly began to descend. Her movement technique was incredibly beautiful and elegant, far superior to Ak Hong-hyang's.
She lightly touched the paper bridge with her toes, then soared into the air again, continuing forward. The paper bridge merely trembled slightly before returning to its original state. Repeating this method a total of four times, So So-yeon successfully landed on the other side of the bridge.
She received the yellow triangular flag from the assistant supervisor, then stood before the paper bridge once more. After taking a moment to catch her breath, So So-yeon slowly regulated her Hyeongi and tucked the flag into her waistband. Then, she executed her movement technique again, soaring into the air.
This time, she stepped on the paper bridge a total of five times and successfully returned to the starting point. Landing back at the start, So So-yeon's hair was slightly disheveled, her face was flushed, and her breathing was uneven. Nevertheless, she had perfectly completed the requirements of the test.
"Time taken: thirty-one breaths! Bridge condition: normal. Grade: Upper A-minus!" Chief Supervisor Mae Ji-won announced So So-yeon's score in a clear voice.
A flicker of disappointment crossed So So-yeon's eyes. But she shook her head slightly and submitted the flag she had retrieved. It was clear at a glance that she was not satisfied with her score.
After her, about ten more students participated in the test. Less than half of them managed to cross the paper bridge and complete the task. Many students tore the paper bridge the moment they stepped on it and plummeted down. While the supervising teachers rescued the students, two particularly unlucky ones fell completely into the viper pit before the teachers could reach them. By the time they were rescued, they had already been bitten over a dozen times by the snakes.
Their poisoned bodies were covered in blisters, a sight too gruesome to behold. Fortunately, the Education Bureau wasn't entirely insane; they had prepared antidotes for the snake venom in advance, so there was no fear of losing lives. The bitten students could recover within at least a day of rest.
These two accidents intensified the tension among the students preparing for the test. The test continued, and the pass rate was even lower than previous tests.
Among the students who had tested so far, the most outstanding performances were, as expected, from Im Jin and Ya Mi-ang.
Im Jin, with her feather-light movements, only stepped on the bridge twice during her round trip, completing the test in just six breaths and earning a Super A-plus grade.
Ya Mi-ang, on the other hand, performed a special, unidentifiable secret technique, and Hyeongi wings sprouted from her back. She flew through the air, completing the test in six breaths and receiving the same score as Im Jin.
Watching all of this, Bukjin was dumbfounded.
'That's ridiculous! Wings sprouting from her back? How am I supposed to compete with people like that?'
"Im Yeok, time taken: twenty-four breaths, bridge condition: normal, grade: Middle A-minus!"
"Dongbang Jeon, time taken: twenty-nine breaths, bridge condition: normal, grade: Lower B-plus!"
"Im Hyeon, time taken: twenty-three breaths, bridge condition: normal, grade: Middle A-minus!"
After a few more students took the test, it was finally Han Bul-bu and Baek Geum-un's turn.
"Han Bul-bu, time taken: thirty-nine breaths, bridge condition: poor, grade: Upper C-plus!"
"Baek Geum-un, time taken: thirty-six breaths, bridge condition: poor, grade: Lower B-minus!"
Both of them tore the surface of the paper bridge when they stepped on it. But at the moment of falling, they boldly struck the bottom of the viper pit with their longswords, using the rebound force to leap back up and continue forward. They repeated this method six or seven times to retrieve the flag and return to the starting point. Although the bridge was damaged, it was still a pass.
Since swordsmen always carried longswords, using a sword to escape danger was considered common sense.