A Trick of Fate
Han Un's heart plummeted. In that same instant, the limp body in his arms gave a sudden, violent twitch.
A choked, wet sound tore from Gi Beonjin's throat, and pitch-black blood erupted from his mouth. Mixed in that dark flood were shreds of internal organs, destroyed beyond all recognition.
"Gi Beonjin!"
Han Un's eyes flew wide. He had been careless. When he first gathered the boy into his arms, he had thought only of the power of the Thunder Roaring Palm, assuming the damage was nothing more than external wounds.
But the moment he sent his Profound Qi flowing into Gi Beonjin's body, the color drained from his face. The boy's five viscera and six bowels had been utterly destroyed. Every meridian was severed. His body was a ruin, as if a colossal beast had trampled him into the dirt.
Gi Beonjin was beyond any hope of treatment — and if they delayed even a moment longer, even his life would slip away. Even should fortune spare him, he was doomed to live out his remaining years as a common man, forever severed from the martial path.
"Yeop Pung! How could you do this? You — you — you... Aigoo!"
Han Un let out a long, heavy sigh. With no time left for words, he gathered Gi Beonjin in his arms and shot like an arrow toward the heart of the Cheonun Sect.
The joy that had filled his chest vanished without a trace, leaving only a bitter, tangled weight.
Yeop Pung, Yeop Pung. You've really done it this time. Of all people, Gi Beonjin... How could you lay a hand on Gi Beonjin?
"Elder Han?"
Those still standing on the stage watched Han Un's hastily departing back with bewildered faces. Not a soul among them understood what had just happened.
Their gazes soon turned to Yeop Pung, who stood there in silence.
The vacant stare he had been directing at empty air slowly came back into focus. He raised both hands and looked at them. He could not believe what he had just done.
I... what did I just do?
The killing intent and combat power that had exploded from him in that instant had felt as if they were not even his own.
This... what on earth just happened?
Could it be that the golden Profound Qi possessed not only tremendous power, but also the ability to strip him of his reason in a single heartbeat?
Yeop Pung did not know. The only thing he was certain of was that all three opponents he had just faced had suffered grievous injuries.
"Yeop Pung! You're incredible!"
"Brother Yeop Pung! You're the best! You're the true pride of every outer disciple!"
Only then did the spectators, having finally grasped the situation, erupt in cheers, roaring Yeop Pung's name with wild enthusiasm. They had no idea whatsoever that the situation had already become irreversibly grave. They were simply drunk on the spectacular victory unfolding before their eyes.
But the inner disciples still standing on the stage all looked at Yeop Pung with complicated expressions.
Yeop Pung. Even if you take first place in this inner disciple examination, the road ahead will not be smooth...
The raucous inner disciple examination thus came to a close. After Yeop Pung's overwhelming victory, the remaining matches were nothing more than a dull backdrop.
When the matches ended, Yeop Pung returned at once to his quarters.
Many of the outer disciples, however, did not leave. They gathered before the Cheonun Stele of Inquiring Qi, waiting for the notice of final rankings to be posted. According to the custom of previous years, the rankings would be announced around sunset — and with them, the fates of a thousand new inner disciples would be decided.
Something strange happened. Even as the sun sank and darkness settled over the mountain, the results of the inner disciple examination were not announced. People could not hide their puzzlement.
Did something go wrong with this examination?
Han Un stood silently before a great hall. The building occupied Cheonun Peak, the highest of the Seven Peaks of Cheonun, and it radiated a majestic, imposing presence. This was none other than Wangcheon Hall, the central grand hall of the Cheonun Sect.
Han Un waited outside Wangcheon Hall for a full four hours. He watched as the Peak Masters of each peak — figures rarely seen in ordinary times — strode into the hall with imposing gaits.
The Peak Masters were the true rulers of the Cheonun Sect. The reason they had gathered here today was one and one alone: the incident that had just unfolded on the sparring grounds.
At first, the hall was quiet. But as time passed, the sounds of a fierce debate carried all the way outside.
"Hmph! Senior Brother Sect Master, I absolutely will not back down this time! I don't know about the rest of you being afraid, but this Ha Chung fears nothing! Yeop Pung will be taken in by our Hwaun Peak. Let's see who dares lay so much as a finger on my disciple!"
"Ridiculous!"
The moment the fiery-voiced Peak Master finished speaking, a cold voice cut him off.
"Peak Master Ha, mind your tongue. Have you forgotten who Gi Beonjin is? Consider the friendship between his father and the Magistrate of Bongsang County. If we fail to handle this matter properly, our Cheonun Sect will suffer the same catastrophe we endured a hundred years ago!"
"Spare me that garbage!"
The fiery-voiced Peak Master roared again.
"Han Buri, you're nothing but a coward shaking in his boots! I truly cannot stand an ungrateful wretch like you!"
"Ha Chung! Do you even know what you're saying? How can a Peak Master of an entire peak be so reckless and insolent?"
"Why should I give a damn about your face?"
"Enough!"
At last, a voice of commanding presence cut through the two men's quarrel.
Wangcheon Hall fell instantly silent. After a long while, Han Un could faintly hear that commanding voice speaking in a quiet tone.
"This incident is largely due to Yeop Pung's excessive self-defense. He must apologize to the Gi Clan."
"Senior Brother Sect Master!"
The fiery Peak Master was aghast.
"Say no more. Peak Master Ha, go at once to Bongsang County Seat and convey our sincere apologies."
"Understood, Senior Brother Sect Master."
The fiery Peak Master answered briefly.
"But if Yeop Pung is not severely punished, it will be difficult to quell the Gi Clan's wrath."
"Disciple Yeop Pung possesses outstanding talent, yet his temperament is vicious, and he is already of considerable age. Even if we devote ourselves wholeheartedly to training him, he is not the timber from which greatness is made..."
The commanding figure fell silent for a moment, then spoke as if he had finally made up his mind.
Confine Yeop Pung to Nagun Peak for one year of reflection.
After one year, exile him from the Cheonun Sect and leave him to the Gi Clan's disposal.
"What? Senior Brother, have you lost your mind? You're going to cast out a disciple of such outstanding talent just because he beat Gi Beonjin? You — you really..."
"Enough! This Sect Master has decided everything. Speak no more and withdraw!"
"Hmph! Senior Brother, you are making a grave mistake!"
The fiery Peak Master shouted in a voice thick with rage.
With a bang, the doors of Wangcheon Hall flew open. A dignified old man in crimson robes strode out, his red hair and beard streaming like flames, fury radiating from his entire body.
"Peak Master..."
Han Un hastily bowed his head.
"Hmph!"
But the old man, whose rage had reached its peak, did not even glance at Han Un. He vanished like an enraged bull, snorting as he went.
Next, a man and a woman walked slowly out of Wangcheon Hall. Though they said nothing, they could not hide their displeasure as they each departed.
Finally, a middle-aged man in green robes appeared at a leisurely pace. He looked to be around fifty. His neatly trimmed goatee and sharp, gleaming eyes were striking. This was none other than Han Buri, the current Peak Master of Nowoon Peak of the Cheonun Sect.
"Han Un."
The moment Han Buri stepped outside, he spoke in a cold tone.
"This is the Sect Master's command. Cancel all of Yeop Pung's examination results and confine him to Nagun Peak. After one year, he is to be expelled from the Cheonun Sect."
"Yes!"
Under Han Buri's oppressive manner, Han Un could not even raise his head as he received the order. But fury boiled in his heart.
How unjust this was! Yeop Pung had clearly only been defending himself — and yet because of Gi Beonjin, he was to receive such an unfair punishment!
Nagun Peak...
It was a sealed-off place that no one in the Cheonun Sect wished to go. Long cut off from human traffic, Nagun Peak had been abandoned and left to decay for years.
This was the Sect Master's stalling tactic. For an entire year, Yeop Pung would be unable to train at all. On Nagun Peak, with neither profound cultivation methods nor training resources, he would miss the most critical period after breaking through to the Profound Realm.
By the time Yeop Pung left the Cheonun Sect a year later, he would be nothing more than an ordinary Profound Realm martial artist. There was no way such a person could stand against the Gi Clan, which wielded immense influence within a hundred-li radius.
In the end, this punishment was a scheme to hand Yeop Pung over to the Gi Clan intact while still preserving the Cheonun Sect's face. Presumably only a result of this magnitude would satisfy the Gi Clan enough for them to back down.
Han Un let out a sigh.
If this is Yeop Pung's fate, what can be done? Damn this wretched fate!
Swallowing his rage, Han Un left.
After everyone had departed from Wangcheon Hall, a gaunt old man walked slowly out of the hall with his arms folded.
He looked far older than any of the Peak Masters. His temples had gone white, as if he had weathered every storm the years could throw at him. In those unfathomable eyes lay a depth of worry no one could measure.
He gazed up at the moon, faintly luminous in the night sky. The night wind scattered his white hair, but he paid it no mind.
After a long while, a low murmur escaped him.
The next day, the results of the inner disciple examination were finally announced. But the unexpected outcome left everyone stunned.
The top-ranked candidate was not Yeop Pung. A single notice pronounced his final fate.
Inner Disciple Examination — Final Disposition
Yeop Pung: All examination results are hereby voided.
The aforementioned disciple is confined to Nagun Peak for one year of reflection. Upon completion of said term, he shall be expelled from the Cheonun Sect.
"What? Yeop Pung is being banished to Nagun Peak?"
"That's insane. Isn't that too harsh? Gi Beonjin started the fight!"
"What's too harsh? Do you even know who Gi Beonjin is? No matter who else Yeop Pung injures, he shouldn't have touched Gi Beonjin. The fact that the Cheonun Sect handled it this way is actually protecting him. Be grateful they didn't hand him over to the Gi Clan directly..."
In an instant, arguments erupted and public opinion boiled over. But no matter how much they whispered, they could not change the fate that awaited Yeop Pung.
A rising star that had been about to take the sky was crushed without mercy by an unforeseen disaster, before it could even shine.
Three days after the inner disciple examination ended, Yeop Pung, accompanied by Han Un, set out for Nagun Peak — a remote peak some ten li north of Cheonun Peak.