Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: You Can't Leave When You Want To (1)
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Meanwhile, as the old beggar, whose flickering spark of passion had reignited, wore a dazed expression upon having the five-point orb stolen from his waist...
A middle-aged Taoist with purely white eyebrows, who had been guarding a nearby peak, sheathed his cherished sword.
Click.
As the gleaming blade vanished into the scabbard embroidered with plum blossom patterns...
The four examinees surrounding the white-browed Taoist exhaled in relief.
"Phew."
"Huff. Huff."
"Whew. We really cheated death there. Hack—ptui."
"Haa. Haa."
Zhuge Seol-ji, Eon Yong-myeong, Cheon Jang-ho, and Tang Ok-gi each let out sighs of relief.
And they had every reason to.
The white-browed Taoist before them was one of the era's Plum Blossom Sword Saints from the Mount Hua Sect—a pillar of the sect.
He was a swordsman who held one seat among the Ten Great Swordsmen Under Heaven.
And he was Chang Liang, the Mount Hua White Brow, who oversaw the Fragrant Orchid Hall dormitory among the four major dorms of the Righteous Martial Academy.
Of course, even the impressive title of Ten Great Swordsmen Under Heaven excluded demonic cultivators and reclusive experts who no longer roamed the jianghu.
It also omitted Taoists, fist fighters, and spear masters, and even among those included, Chang Liang's seat was at the very end. If you removed "swordsmen" from the title and changed it to "best under heaven," his ranking would drop far back.
But even so, he was still a towering mountain for fledgling later-generation disciples who hadn't even fully grown their peach fuzz.
As the one who had guarded the five-point armored knight task in the martial demonstration phase of the entrance exam...
Excluding the five-point orb guarded by the Mad Wind Moon Blade Old Three—or Wild Wind Storm Beggar Old Three—the spot he protected was expected to be perhaps the most difficult.
Of course, Zhuge Seol-ji, known as the Little Martial Marquis or Little Zhuge Kongming, hadn't led his team here unaware of that fact.
The moment he received the map from the exam proctors, Zhuge Seol-ji had discerned that the orb positions formed a type of formation.
And from that judgment, he had even identified which professors guarded the four four-point orbs.
So why had they deliberately come here?
"One more step, and your left arm would've turned into a porcupine from the Tang family's poison needles."
Among the four professors guarding the four-point orbs, Chang Liang was the least aggressive.
"Of course, had I been a real demonic cultivator, all four of you would've lost your lives. But assuming the scattered orbs on Mount Wudang form a net cast by allies, even a poisoned me couldn't have broken through the encirclement. It was an excellent passing strategy. You all show great promise."
He valued future potential over immediate achievements, favored prestigious clans, and included one's family when speaking of that potential—making the calculations straightforward.
"The mastermind behind this strategy must be Zhuge Seol-ji of the Zhuge family?"
"Yes."
"A fine strategy. You even have talent for the sword. Rumors say the Zhuge family has finally produced a talent versed in both strategy and martial arts after so long—and they weren't exaggerated at all."
"You're too kind."
"Eon Yong-myeong of the Eon family. You were splendid too. Your fist techniques, infused with the essence of Myeongjungsu, kept me from making any large movements throughout. It was truly the Eon Family Fist, said to have no equals in Hebei for fist arts."
"You're too kind."
"Tang Ok-gi of the Tang family. Poison can be a double-edged sword in chaotic melees where friend and foe tangle. Yet your hidden weapons and dagger techniques showed no hesitation even as your teammates shifted positions wildly. That means you have absolute confidence in your hidden weapons and daggers—and that even if something unfortunate happened, you trusted your pharmacology skills. Splendid."
"Well, I figured even if it hit the beggar bastard, it'd be fine. Anyway, thanks for the praise, Professor."
"...? You were grouped with that fox-mouthed brat?! Professor, shouldn't he get points deducted? What's that called—comradely spirit? Seems pretty lacking, doesn't it?"
"...Cheon Jang-ho of the Beggars' Sect."
"...Yes?"
"How fares the Sect Leader?"
"Eh, well. No one under heaven would dare wrong him."
"Indeed."
"...Uh. Is that it for me?"
"Yes."
"...Understood."
"Anyway, you all did well. You pass. Here's the four-point orb."
After receiving the orb from Taoist Chang Liang...
They retrieved the senior playing the patient, hoisted him onto their back, and began descending the mountain.
Thus, Eon Yong-myeong's team cleared the final hurdle of the exam exactly as Zhuge Seol-ji had predicted, without deviation.
At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Eon Yong-myeong's mind.
'They say the top spot for this year's crop has already been decided long ago. Young Master Zhuge's predictions have no margin for error.'
Then, a worry he'd set aside while focusing on the exam resurfaced in his mind.
'Then what about big brother's team?'
His mouth opened unwittingly at the thought.
"Um, Young Lady Zhuge."
"Yes, Young Master Yong-myeong. Speak."
"Earlier at the foot of Mount Wudang, didn't you say something? I asked if there was no way to get the five-point orb, and you said it was nearly impossible for three reasons?"
"I did."
"You didn't tell me the third reason back then."
"Hm. When you first asked, I wasn't sure if you were puzzled about not choosing five points or if you had other thoughts. But now I see you're worried about your brother, not yourself."
"...Yes. How did you...?"
"After already securing a four-point orb, the only reason you'd ask is that. Hm. Come to think of it, one examinee friendly with your brother, Young Master Yong-un, is just short of five points for passing."
"You even grasped that much?"
"Yes. Your brother, Young Master Yong-un, is drawing a lot of attention, and he's competing with me for top spot, so I've been watching closely."
"...Ah. I see."
"Yes. The rumors in the jianghu didn't match the real person much, making it hard to predict his moves, but it seems he chose the five-point orb?"
At that instant...
Eon Yong-myeong felt a faint chill crawl up his spine, for some reason.
"...Ah."
He felt like he'd made a slip of the tongue.
But spilled words couldn't be gathered back, and as Eon Yong-myeong realized his mistake, Zhuge Seol-ji muttered to herself.
"Hm. Stepping forward before the seniors when Zheng-hyeon of Wudang was in peril, escorting the disreputable young master of the Silver Radiance Merchant Group despite his poor reputation in Jiangnan. Even after securing enough points before this trial, choosing the high-risk five-point because of his teammates. Hm. Now I get a sense of what kind of person he is. Oh, right."
At some point, she turned back to Eon Yong-myeong with a question.
"You asked about the third reason, didn't you, Young Master Yong-myeong?"
"...Yes."
"The answer lies in why you suddenly clammed up."
"...I'm not sure what you mean."
"Were you afraid I'd suggest aiming for the five-point orb? There were no explicit rules against examinees targeting each other's orbs, after all."
Eon Yong-myeong hadn't even clearly understood his own slip-up, yet here was Zhuge Seol-ji voicing it.
"......"
As Eon Yong-myeong turned mute as a honey-trapped fool, Zhuge Seol-ji chuckled softly and continued.
"Well, I won't target it. No reason to take a risky gamble full of variables, no desire to make an enemy of you or Young Master Jang-ho, whom I couldn't easily sway anyway—so rest easy. But other examinees are different."
"......"
"Five points can vault someone on the brink of failure straight to passing. Plus, the orb positions on the map are ultimately arranged to converge on the five-point orb. In a formation like this, I suspect fireworks or some signal go off when a team claims the five-point orb."
"So that means..."
"Yes. Even if you wrest the five-point orb from the Wild Wind Storm Beggar Professor after untold hardship, examinees desperate from elimination risk will come charging. Professors with illustrious reputations and nicknames are intimidating, but fellow examinees?"
"......"
"Especially if their titles are 'scoundrel,' 'disgrace,' 'braggart,' and 'thief'? They'd think it's worth a shot."
"Young Lady, your words are a bit..."
"I'm not saying I think that. I'm saying that's the reality others perceive."
"......"
"Frankly, your brother—Young Master Yong-un—scares me a little. To walk the path of being called a scoundrel despite having such skill and camaraderie?"
She swallowed the follow-up about being curious what convictions he harbored, then gazed toward the peak with the five-point orb and spoke.
"Anyway, it absolutely won't be easy."
"Then we'll be off."
I tossed a perfunctory clasped-hands salute at the dumbfounded Professor Old Three and immediately twisted my body into the Shadowless Heaven-Splitting Step.
Jeong-hyeon and U So-rung followed in my wake, unleashing their Jeun Jong and Shadowless Wind techniques respectively.
"Hahaha."
Suddenly Jeong-hyeon burst into laughter, so I asked while running.
"Wind in your lungs? Why the sudden guffaws?"
"Even while Professor Old Three was throwing his tantrum, I couldn't understand or just resented him a bit, but when we stole the orb with your brilliant plan, Young Master Eon, his soul-left-body expression keeps replaying. Kek. Heh heh."
Seeing that, Master at my waist clicked his tongue.
-Tsk tsk. The Taoist's laughing like it's great after getting robbed. That's why they say from ancient times to befriend the virtuous—near ink, one turns black, as the saying goes. Tsk tsk...
'...?'
Well, whatever.
As Jeong-hyeon laughed, U So-rung, running beside us, shuddered and spoke up.
"I really thought my heart was gonna explode."
"You did great. You're the top contributor, So-rung."
"No way. Young Master Eon laid the whole table. But Young Master Eon, now that we're descending, we just link up with Brother Eun and we're done, right? Professor Old Three doesn't seem to be chasing, so why are we still sprinting?"
"That's..."
It was then.
As I opened my mouth to explain to Jeong-hyeon and U So-rung how, in the original novel, Jeong-hyeon's team got attacked by other examinees even after claiming the five-point orb...
A firework shot skyward from the peak we'd left.
Piiiu—Boom boom!!
Not long after, rustling came from a bush to the right, not far off.
Examinees clutching weapons with grim, determined faces burst out.
At their appearance, Jeong-hyeon and U So-rung's eyes widened in unison.
"...Other examinees?"
"Why are those guys popping out from there? The vibe's off."
But I thought it was perfect timing.
"Here we go."
Tedious to explain, but these were the fools who'd charge anyway—better to show than tell.
"Hah. I half-expected it, but who knew that total mess of a team would actually snag the five-point orb."
"A strat worthy of a true crouching dragon and phoenix—or rather, a strategist rivaling Guan Zhong and wicked Yi Yin, Leader! We waited at the pass just in case, and look—the pumpkin rolls right in on the vine!"
"They must be drained of stamina and inner energy after fighting Professor Mad Wind Moon Blade!"
"One's even missing! Let's finish quick and claim the orb! Then we shoot straight to the top ranks!"
"Yeah yeah. Looks like just the scoundrel, disgrace, and thief are left. Among them, just watch the scoundrel a bit. Alright, charge!"
U So-rung and Jeong-hyeon clenched their fists at their mutterings.
"I sense clear hostility. Definitely not friendlies."
"...More like they're after our orb, Brother Jeong-hyeon?"
But my lips were already curling up.
Come on in. Come on.
But let's get one thing straight.
You can charge in whenever you want...
but leaving? Fat chance.