Chapter 103: Observing the Insights of the Former Chamber Leaders (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: Observing the Insights of the Former Chamber Leaders (1)
Do Geon suddenly unleashed a flurry of hidden weapons, giving me a proper fright.
However, before his projectiles could even touch me, the Ghost Sword rose of its own accord and deflected them all.
As expected, there was something different about Do Geon’s hidden weapons. The Ghost Sword seemed to react specifically to his attacks.
I shook my wrist, trying not to provoke him further. I intended to recall the Ghost Sword, but for some reason, it slipped from my control and suddenly spun in a full circle.
‘Argh!’
My heart nearly leaped into my throat as I watched the Ghost Sword exit Do Geon’s right shoulder.
A moment later, his right arm fell to the ground with a thud, and my reason finally snapped back to reality.
‘Right, he attacked first, so my retaliation was justified. Even if his master complains later, I’ll have something to say for myself.’
But looking closer, I could sense a ghostly energy dwelling within his severed right arm. I watched as a dark aura seeped out of the limb and vanished.
‘What the? Did that guy… have a ghost planted in his right arm?’
Now I understood why the Ghost Sword had acted on its own. Since the Ghost Sword itself was possessed by a spirit, perhaps it felt a sense of hostility toward another ghost.
‘But shouldn't ghosts be comrades? Why are they so hostile toward each other?’
These thoughts were quickly pushed aside by the situation unfolding before my eyes. First, I issued a stern warning, fearing he might try to attack again.
Perhaps out of sheer resentment, Do Geon left his bleeding right shoulder alone. Gyeong Mong and the instructors rushed over, frantically trying to staunch the bleeding.
I turned to Advisor Woo, who was staring at me blankly.
“Advisor Woo. I believe I should wash up first. I’m covered in blood.”
At my words, Advisor Woo stammered, “Yes, of course,” and began to lead the way.
We had only walked a short distance when Advisor Woo suddenly turned and ran back. He began gathering things from the stone platform.
“It’s a bit awkward to say this given the circumstances, but a bet is a bet, so I’ll be taking these.”
Advisor Woo spoke to Do Geon while picking up the sword and the hidden weapon case. Do Geon ground his teeth but didn't offer a response.
I didn't like his attitude, so I glared at him. Knowing that a smile can be more terrifying than anger in such moments, I let a thin smirk play on my lips.
“If you ever treat me like this again, you’d better be prepared for the consequences.”
Do Geon trembled, while Gyeong Mong and the instructors flinched and avoided my gaze.
I turned around and let out a long sigh as I walked away.
“The scent of blood is going to linger for a while.”
When I spoke in a dejected tone, Advisor Woo gave a completely unexpected response.
“Could it be?”
“Pardon?”
Advisor Woo stared at me intently and asked, “Could it be? Are you a hidden master who has achieved the Realm of Rejuvenation?”
His gaze was so earnest that I couldn't find the words to answer; I simply burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
I felt much of my gloom dissipate at Advisor Woo’s absurd question.
“My guess is right, isn't it?”
When Advisor Woo asked again with wide eyes, I laughed once more at the sheer ridiculousness of it.
*
After washing off the blood, I spent half a shijin [one hour] practicing energy circulation. I felt like I wouldn't be able to find any peace of mind if I just sat still.
I was seeing and learning so much since coming to the Nine Demons Chamber. My short time here felt as though I had lived through twenty years in the Murim.
Thinking that I would have died long ago if not for Hwang Chu’s Ghost Sword and the Ghost Heaven Soul Formation, I found myself missing him. I wondered how he was doing back at the Murim Alliance.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say I had survived this far almost entirely thanks to Hwang Chu.
Once I finished my meditation, I changed into the new martial robes Advisor Woo had left in the stone chamber. When I stepped outside, I found Advisor Woo waiting for me, as if he had been standing guard the entire time.
My mind felt clear and my body light. I often felt this way when I practiced energy circulation after achieving one jiazi of internal energy.
“What would you like to do?” Advisor Woo asked. He was asking whether I wanted to leave the Hell Pavilion or go see the Blood Wind Squad.
There was nothing holding me back now, so why would I leave? It seemed their schemes had ended with the Four Wheels Twenty-Four Guests. I could tell by how relaxed Do Geon had been while waiting for me.
“I’ve come all this way; I can’t just turn back now, can I? I should see the Blood Wind Squad and take a look at those famous insights of the former chamber leaders.”
When I spoke with a grin, Advisor Woo looked relieved.
“Then, let us go.”
We headed toward the fourth floor, where the Blood Wind Squad was undergoing their final training.
As soon as we entered the training hall on the fourth floor, the pungent scent of sweat hit me. For the smell to be this strong in such a vast hall, it was clear how intensely they were training.
The Blood Wind Squad was divided into teams, engaged in mock battles with wooden swords that looked as intense as real combat. Every movement suggested they had already reached the level of experts. Among the crowd, I couldn't distinguish my own subordinates or the Seven Heroes. Since they were all wearing the same martial robes and were tangled in combat, I couldn't make out their faces.
Though they used wooden swords, the sparring was incredibly brutal. They attacked relentlessly whenever they saw an opening, and many were rolling on the ground, screaming in pain.
Just then, an instructor approached and spoke.
“For the final training, we have the battle against the fighting dogs.”
Advisor Woo added an explanation for me.
“To sharpen their combat instincts, the fortress releases fighting dogs that have been starved for several days for the final training session.”
I let out a short laugh at that.
Even a fighting dog was just a dog. No matter how fierce they were, they wouldn't be able to handle the Blood Wind Squad, whose killing intent and fighting spirit had reached their peak through this deadly training. Furthermore, looking at the squad members sparring now, it seemed they could kill such dogs with a single strike.
The fighting spirit radiating from the Blood Wind Squad was palpable even to me, looking down from nearly ten zhang [approx. 30 meters] above. To such men, fighting dogs were essentially no different from chicks.
As if sensing my thoughts, Advisor Woo gave a thin smile.
“They are no ordinary fighting dogs. They are Jiangshi dogs, and even first-rate masters cannot kill them easily.”
They made dogs into Jiangshi? Was that even possible? Well, they turn humans into Jiangshi, so dogs should be easy. Come to think of it, it wasn't an impossible feat; it was just rarely done.
“They must kill the Jiangshi dogs using the martial arts they have learned so far. Only the top one hundred men who retrieve the most red ribbons from the dogs' necks will become official members of the Blood Wind Squad.”
There were nearly two hundred warriors down there, and it felt a bit tragic that half of them would be cut.
“It seems like you could just take them all.”
Advisor Woo shook his head.
“They must be selected this way to have pride. If everyone who receives training becomes a member, they won't feel a sense of prestige in their organization.”
Hearing Advisor Woo’s words, it did make sense.
An instructor blew a whistle, and the warriors who had been sparring with wooden swords lined up in perfect order. Following the instructor’s orders, they returned the wooden swords and were issued real blades.
Now, only the final practical test against the Jiangshi dogs remained.
“But will the Jiangshi dogs be able to hold out?” I asked.
Advisor Woo replied, “You’ll see, but they aren't to be underestimated just because they’re dogs. They won't die even if you cut them well. And they are incredibly troublesome because they cling to you and bite persistently. In truth, this gate is training to maximize their killing intent and fighting spirit. Once they enter real combat, they must maintain their composure even while watching their comrades die, and to emit fighting spirit toward the enemy until the moment they die, they need a spirit that transcends death itself. This gate was designed for that purpose.”
Hearing that, I understood.
Recalling the battle between the Iron Blood Demon Group and the Blood Wind Squad, I had seen that unyielding fighting spirit. When the assassins ambushed us at the farm, I had wondered what kind of training they had received to remain so cold-blooded in the face of their comrades' deaths.
While absolute loyalty to one's lord is a mandatory virtue for a military organization, the reality is that not everyone possesses such qualities. Since the Blood Wind Squad was being formed by overcoming all those weaknesses, there was no telling how strong they would become.
And because they were such men, my heart raced at the fact that I was their Acting Squad Leader, even if only for a time.
Screeeech!
Suddenly, Thunder Cloud Bombs exploded in the training hall, and a thick mist rolled in.
“It wouldn't be fun if it were too easy, would it? That’s why we do it while the Thunder Cloud Bombs are active.”
“That seems dangerous.”
Advisor Woo responded to my concern.
“It is also training for chaotic battles. It’s meant to teach them to respond using only the enemy’s killing intent in a situation where they can’t see an inch in front of them.”
I had thought it would be simple, but I was wrong. In those conditions, it seemed it would be difficult to retrieve the ribbons from the Jiangshi dogs' necks.
“Release the Jiangshi dogs!”
At the command, iron gates opened on all sides.
The Jiangshi dogs came prowling out. Someone blew a small whistle like a flute, and the Jiangshi dogs moved according to the sound.
“What if someone actually dies?”
As I spoke out of concern, an instructor chimed in.
“They must go through at least this much training to become proper warriors. If they cannot overcome their fear, they cannot exert their true strength in battle. Another purpose of the Hell Pavilion training is to eliminate fear.”
He spoke with such pride that I had nothing to say in response.
‘What a bunch of brutes.’
Then again, that was how such a powerful military organization was born.
Imagining the Blood Wind Squad members fighting the Jiangshi dogs in the mist made me feel even more tense. Even if I couldn't see them, the squad members would be engaged in a desperate struggle against the undead hounds within that fog.
‘I think I finally understand why the Nine Demons Chamber’s combat units are so famous in the Murim.’
Soon, the effects of the Thunder Cloud Bombs faded. Hundreds of Jiangshi dogs lay sprawled across the floor. Only a few squad members had been struck down by the dogs and were lying on the ground.
However, the other Blood Wind Squad members were helping them back to their feet.
Normally, in this test, the others were competitors; the more people failed, the better it was for oneself.
“Show your ribbons!”
At the instructor’s command, the Blood Wind Squad members held out their hands.
But everyone’s hands were empty. Not a single person had untied a ribbon from a Jiangshi dog’s neck.
“Ho!”
I couldn't help but be impressed. In other words, they had shown through their actions their resolve not to abandon their comrades. Out of nearly two hundred trainees, only half—about a hundred—could become members, yet they acted this way. It was impossible without a deep sense of camaraderie.
Advisor Woo also seemed moved as he looked at the squad members.
“Actually, this is the first time we’ve tied ribbons to the Jiangshi dogs. Normally, more than half of the trainees fail by the final gate, but for some reason, only about ten people failed this time, and almost everyone made it to the final gate. Since we had an excess of people, we were forced to use this method.”
As I nodded, Advisor Woo spoke with admiration.
“I believe this is all because Young Hero Eo selected only those who had mastered Orthodox internal arts as trainees. They endured the difficult and grueling training until the very end. Usually, those who learn demonic arts fail because their internal energy falls short, but there were almost no such cases this time. As expected, your insight is different, Young Hero Eo.”
I hadn't exactly calculated all that when I selected the trainees, but since it had turned out well, I put on airs.
“The Blood Wind Squad will likely become the strongest unit in the Nine Demons Chamber. But is there a reason you can’t just pass them all?”
I asked because passing them all would mean having nearly a hundred more warriors than other units, which would be a significant boost in power.
“There is a bit of a problem with that. Currently, we only have about a hundred Dragon Ascending Pills prepared, so we must inevitably fail a hundred people.”
The Dragon Ascending Pill was a spiritual medicine prepared by the Ma Ui himself, capable of granting half a jiazi’s worth of internal energy.
What a name. It sounds like some fraudulent medicine sold at a market stall. How tacky—Dragon Ascending Pill? They should have come up with something more sophisticated.
“It’s a good name, isn't it? The Ma Ui named it himself.”
When Advisor Woo spoke with a grin, I stared at his face.
‘Well, I suppose the perspective of a master and a small fry can be different.’
I tried my best to understand the difference in taste.
That aside, I watched the instructor, curious to see how he would handle this situation.
“Fine! I understand your heart for your comrades! However, half of you must be eliminated! Therefore, we shall use the final method. Those who are standing here until the very end shall become members of the Blood Wind Squad!”
The trainees grew incredibly tense at the instructor’s words. In truth, their True Qi and physical strength were nearly exhausted from fighting the Jiangshi dogs in the mist.
At the instructor’s signal, other instructors brought in a series of large jars with lids.
‘Are they going to release snakes or something?’
The thought crossed my mind.