Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Qualified Candidate 2
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Baek Moo-jin had qualified first, leaving him alone for quite some time. In the interim, a woman who appeared to be a maid entered, told him to call her anytime if he needed anything, offered a polite bow, and withdrew.
About half an incense stick later, the door to the large hall burst open noisily. In strode a man dressed in excessively fine attire, his face beaming with cheer as he shook an iron fan.
The man entered with an air of supreme confidence, but the moment he spotted Baek Moo-jin, he flashed a smile. His expression was an odd blend of frivolity and keen sharpness. Taking in Baek Moo-jin's white robes from head to toe, complete with a white long sword at his side, the man clearly took him for a warrior of the White Sword Unit.
"Are you from the White Sword Unit, by any chance?"
"No."
"Then what brings you here..."
"I'm waiting after my examination."
"Ah? So you're a qualifier? Hoo..."
The man clasped his fan with both hands and performed a cupped-fist salute, then eyed Baek Moo-jin up and down before speaking.
"I am Seo Moon-geuk."
Baek Moo-jin returned the gesture with proper courtesy.
"Baek Moo-jin."
Even ordinary men instinctively size up each other's energy upon meeting. In that sense, a clash of auras is second nature to men. When men fight over drinks or in the heat of excitement, without grudge or reason, it's because one failed to suppress the other's spirit.
'His gaze, his demeanor, his speech—they rub me the wrong way.'
'They're violent types with no self-control to begin with.'
These are mere surface excuses. In truth, it's the inevitable result of a primal clash of auras.
A subtle tension flowed between Baek Moo-jin and Seo Moon-geuk.
The moment that made the hearts of martial world men race was passing.
Gauging energies.
Sizing up dispositions.
Scanning eyes and stances...
In the end, it was the instinctive judgment flashing through the mind: Can I beat this guy?
Seo Moon-geuk stared at Baek Moo-jin with a smile.
He had assumed Baek Moo-jin would react with shock upon hearing his name. But there was no response whatsoever.
Seo Moon-geuk smacked his lips and looked at Baek Moo-jin again.
'What's this? He doesn't know me?'
That was the expression on his face. As Baek Moo-jin merely blinked, Seo Moon-geuk flicked his fan and spoke.
"Well now... We've already got two qualifiers here. They say only Fourth to Fifth Grade warriors stay in this waiting room. The guide explained it."
"Isn't two a fair number?"
"Fourth and Fifth Graders don't always take the test, and even when they do, qualifiers are rare. Two is actually a lot. Most join at Seventh or Eighth Grade."
"I see."
Seeing Baek Moo-jin's flat reaction once more, Seo Moon-geuk felt oddly off-put.
People usually showed curiosity about him.
Who was Seo Moon-geuk? The second son of the Seo Moon Family, one of the Five Great Families of the martial world.
His nickname: Seo Moon Wonderful Fan.
It referred to his masterful use of the iron fan, a unique weapon. His personality was far from ordinary too—nosy, boastful, yet bold, with profound martial arts. People either loved or hated him intensely.
He was also known as one of the top young experts across the entire martial world.
And now, this Seo Moon-geuk found himself intrigued by Baek Moo-jin, who kept his mouth shut.
"Where are you from, Brother Baek?"
"From Snow Mountain."
"Snow Mountain? If I may ask, your sect...?"
"Snow Mountain Baek Family."
"Ah, Snow Mountain Baek Family."
Baek Moo-jin tilted his head as he looked at Seo Moon-geuk.
"You know of it?"
Seo Moon-geuk shook his head with exaggerated youthfulness.
"Well now... No idea. I pride myself on knowing the martial world's lay of the land, but this is new to me."
Baek Moo-jin nodded with a wry smile.
"That figures."
"But seeing you without a scratch, you must have overwhelmed your opponent. You didn't skip the sparring exam, did you?"
Baek Moo-jin nodded at Seo Moon-geuk.
"I sparred with the Silent Sword Unit. And you, Brother Seo, don't have a mark on you either."
At that, Seo Moon-geuk burst into laughter.
"Well, that's how it went for me. But are you new to the martial world, by chance?"
"Yes."
"Have you heard of the Seo Moon Family?"
"Of course."
Baek Moo-jin studied Seo Moon-geuk's expression. He looked like someone itching to brag about something, forcing Baek Moo-jin to suppress a budding laugh.
'What a funny guy.'
Seo Moon-geuk couldn't fathom how someone could react so indifferently even after hearing he was from the Seo Moon Family. Most people's eyes would widen round at the name.
Yet Baek Moo-jin's response carried a lukewarm "Hmm, I've heard of them."
Seo Moon-geuk's nostrils flared unconsciously as he thought.
'Is he a country bumpkin, or just arrogant? Can't get a read.'
Seo Moon-geuk smiled and said,
"You've heard the name, but don't know much, eh?"
Hitting the nail on the head, Baek Moo-jin nodded seriously.
"Truth be told, I only know the name Seo Moon Family—nothing more."
Seo Moon-geuk feigned admiration.
"Heavens! Surely you know the Five Great Families?"
"Pardon?"
"No way? You don't?"
Seo Moon-geuk stared at Baek Moo-jin as if demanding he name them.
Baek Moo-jin had a rough idea of the Five Great Families, but finding Seo Moon-geuk's attitude amusing, he pretended to rack his brain unnecessarily.
2.
After a moment's thought, Baek Moo-jin folded one finger and said,
"Nangong Family...?"
Seo Moon-geuk nodded like a teacher praising a child.
"Right. The Nangong Family has been one of the Five Great Families for ages."
"Zhuge Family?"
Seo Moon-geuk suddenly raised his voice.
"Zhuge? Don't make me laugh. Outside that old Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage Zhuge Liang, no Zhuge has ever been famous. Sure, they claim to be a family tucked away somewhere, but I've never seen one, and none show up at the North Heaven Alliance anyway. We don't count them. The Zhuge Family isn't..."
Baek Moo-jin blinked at Seo Moon-geuk.
"Still, switching to informal speech so suddenly..."
"Oh, my apologies. How old are you this year? I'm twenty-five."
"Twenty-two."
A baffling silence fell. Seo Moon-geuk cleared his throat awkwardly and continued.
"Ahem, where were we?"
"Up to the Zhuge Family."
"Ah, do you know the next?"
"Sima Family?"
"Don't joke. You trying to drag me into Three Kingdoms talk again?"
"Huangbo Family?"
"First I've heard."
Suddenly struck by a thought, Baek Moo-jin said,
"Ah, there's the Dugu Family too."
"Hey... Brother Baek, you've got quite the breadth of knowledge. But how about speaking casually?"
"No thanks."
"Fine, fine. We'll ease into it. Next?"
"Hmm. Oh, Sichuan Tang Family? Tang Family of Sichuan."
"Correct. The Tang Family and Nangong have been in the Five Great Families the longest. After that?"
"Hmm."
As Baek Moo-jin pondered, Seo Moon-geuk glared, thinking, 'Let's see when he mentions the Seo Moon Family.'
Baek Moo-jin rattled off whatever came to mind.
"Habuk Peng Family."
"Skip it. Maybe a hundred years ago."
From then on, their words grew curt. Seo Moon-geuk shook his head sourly at each guess.
"Gongson Family? Moyong Family?"
Growing impatient, Seo Moon-geuk supplied the answer himself.
"Heavens, how can you not know the martial world's state? Tsk. Nangong Family, Dugu Family, Sichuan Tang Family, Baili Family! And our Seo Moon Family—the Five Great Families of the present age."
Seo Moon-geuk fanned himself, eyeing Baek Moo-jin expectantly for a shocked reaction. Baek Moo-jin replied curtly.
"I see."
Seo Moon-geuk, who lived for the thrill of showing off, etched a firm impression of Baek Moo-jin in his mind at that moment.
'Ah, what an irritating guy.'
Seo Moon-geuk began probing like a bully teasing a weakling.
"Who from the Silent Sword Unit did you face?"
"Hmm, can't recall the name."
"Come on! Think!"
"You know the Silent Sword Unit well?"
"Better than you, Brother Baek."
"Ah, I remember. Jeon Yeop? No, Kang Yeop."
"Kang Yeop? You mean Silent Sword Deputy Commander Kang Yeop?"
"Yes."
This time, Seo Moon-geuk blinked.
"You beat him?"
"You're sticking to informal speech..."
"Oh, sorry. You beat him?"
"Yes."
"You're twenty-two this year?"
"That's right."
"Heavens... Kang Yeop?"
Seo Moon-geuk's face grew pensive, deeply contemplating what twenty-two meant.
'Could I have beaten Kang Yeop at twenty-two...? Wait, why did he even spar with the deputy commander for the exam?'
Seo Moon-geuk's eyes widened like a cat's as he whipped his head and scrutinized Baek Moo-jin.
"You're really twenty-two?"
"Yes."
"You're not just old but baby-faced or something?"
"No."
"Ever fallen off a cliff a few years back?"
"No?"
"Dig through your memories. You... might've blacked out. Suddenly whoa, foot slips, then you wake to thick fog around. Golden monkey or... man-sized bird? Met a bird or something. Or that one! Uh, you know. Right, Public Blue Liquid Oil or Millennium Snow Ginseng... ate some heavenly treasure like that."
Baek Moo-jin barely held back laughter at Seo Moon-geuk's exaggerated gestures accompanying his words.
"Ahem... No."
Seo Moon-geuk was asking if he'd gained a stroke of fortune, but Baek Moo-jin shook his head with a smile, knowing what he'd obtained was something else entirely.
"Lies always come out eventually. Anyway, where were we."
"Up to Millennium Snow Ginseng. Probably?"
"Ah, right. The wait's dragging on."
"Sure is."
At that point, Seo Moon-geuk eyed Baek Moo-jin's gaze and said flatly,
"Nothing to do—want to spar?"
Baek Moo-jin remained utterly calm amid the ongoing conversation. For the first time, he smiled at Seo Moon-geuk and replied briefly.
"Sure."
Both knew they'd sized each other up dozens of times during their talk. Yet Seo Moon-geuk looked flustered now that Baek Moo-jin had accepted so readily.
Undeterred, Baek Moo-jin set his sword on the table and walked empty-handed to the center of the hall.
Furrows creased Seo Moon-geuk's brow at the display. He scoffed.
"I use an iron fan."
Standing in the center, Baek Moo-jin nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Bare-handed against me?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"Ha... I must've misjudged you."
Baek Moo-jin laughed.
"How so...?"
"You had that blank, dumb look, but you're one arrogant bastard."
Thwack! Seo Moon-geuk slammed the table and leaped from his seat into the air, slicing the wind as he thrust his iron fan at Baek Moo-jin's face.
In an instant, they closed distance and exchanged moves.
Baek Moo-jin stood motionless in place, while Seo Moon-geuk wielded his iron fan like a sword, stabbing in rapid succession at Baek Moo-jin's face, shoulder, and chest.
Yet Baek Moo-jin's responses were efficient, without excess. He dodged with minimal motion or casually deflected the fan with an outstretched hand.
Suddenly, with a shrrrrk, Seo Moon-geuk snapped the fan open, revealing a sharp blade that whipped forward, stirring gusts of wind.
That was when Baek Moo-jin finally began to move.
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