Chapter 24: The First Gate
Thud, thud, thud.
Cold, hard footsteps echoed through the vast cave.
No other sounds could be heard.
Pitch blackness shrouded everything; nothing was visible ahead.
Yet Woo-gang pressed on without hesitation.
Excitement for the new training swelled within him, matched by a burning sense of duty—he had to succeed.
Above all, he couldn't bear to disappoint Si-woo.
Since coming to live with Si-woo, they'd never been apart.
Si-woo was the only person who'd ever shown him human warmth, the affection of family.
In their bond, Woo-gang felt just how deeply Si-woo cherished him.
How must Si-woo have felt, sending his adopted grandson and disciple into this place alone?
Recalling Si-woo's uncharacteristic emotional turmoil, Woo-gang steeled his resolve.
After walking some distance, a faint light glimmered ahead.
Welcoming the sight, Woo-gang quickened his pace.
And at last...
"Whoa..."
An exclamation escaped Woo-gang's lips.
He'd remained stoic even before the grand fortress of the Bing Palace, yet this drew a gasp from him.
Ice enveloped everything.
No stone, no boulders, no grass—pure transparency filled the space.
Ice protrusions formed sheer cliffs in places, while long icicles dangled sharply from the ceiling, as keen and pointed as the spear in Woo-gang's hand.
Reflecting an unknown light source, the scenery sparkled mesmerizingly, leaving Woo-gang entranced.
"This is the Hanchon Secret Cave..."
Woo-gang scanned his surroundings.
It seemed far removed from the dangers he'd been warned about.
As he lost himself in the breathtaking beauty—
"Finally, someone's come."
"It's you this time."
"Not from the Bing Palace."
"One of their people again?"
Four elders materialized from different spots, without a whisper of presence.
The rapture Woo-gang had felt moments ago vanished, replaced instantly by tension.
"Who are you?"
Woo-gang demanded.
The elders exchanged glances, and one spoke up.
"We are the ones who will guide you to hell."
Tension etched deeper into Woo-gang's face.
In that instant, three turned and vanished, leaving one behind.
Woo-gang eyed the remaining elder.
Long white hair, but few wrinkles—his age was impossible to gauge.
"From this moment, I will stop at nothing to kill you."
The elder declared it flatly, without a flicker of expression.
Gulp.
Woo-gang swallowed involuntarily.
His grip tightened on the spear.
The elder, standing at the cliff's edge, vanished—reappearing right before Woo-gang.
A fair distance separated them, but after that movement, it seemed trivial.
"Sleeping, eating, even when you shit. Anytime, anywhere, I'll do whatever it takes to kill you. Survive if you can. That's your first gate."
First gate.
If mere survival was the first, the rest were beyond imagining.
Shhk!
"Daydreaming will get you killed!"
The elder vanished and reappeared in a flash, thrusting his sword.
Startled, Woo-gang dropped his bundle and dodged with footwork.
Screech!
He didn't evade perfectly; the hem of his robe tore.
Woo-gang snapped alert.
This was real. Deadly real.
The thought sharpened his senses to a razor's edge.
Sensing the shift, a feral grin curled the elder's lips.
"Now you're worth killing."
Training in the Hanchon Secret Cave had just begun.
"Hah! Hah! Hah!"
Woo-gang staggered, gasping raggedly.
His clothes had long been reduced to rags.
Not just cloth—scars riddled his body.
Wounds formed and healed in cycles; some still bled fresh.
The Bing Palace had provided spares, but they'd shred anyway, and there was no time to change.
Whenever Woo-gang paused for breath, the elder struck without mercy.
He targeted vital points relentlessly, as if truly bent on murder.
"Your only path to survival is killing me! Attack boldly!"
The elder roared, unleashing savage sword strikes.
His strikes were fearsome, but his overwhelming presence and manic expression pressed even harder.
Exhausted, Woo-gang gritted his teeth, circulated his qi, and deployed footwork.
Yet he couldn't mount a proper offense against the elder.
During spars with Bing Palace warriors, he'd attacked confidently.
Not now.
Because the elder's assaults were too fierce? Opportunities too scarce?
Neither.
To live, he had to kill.
Murder.
Even when first meeting Si-woo, Woo-gang had fled, fearing harm might befall him.
For someone of his gentle nature, swinging a spear to kill was no simple task.
The elder offered no such mercy.
He pressed his assault with full intent to end Woo-gang.
All Woo-gang could do was dodge and block.
Screeeeech!
Splatter!
"Don't evade—fight back!"
Boom!
"Don't just block—counter!"
The elder attacked; Woo-gang parried and dodged.
Someone watched the chase.
The other three elders from Woo-gang's arrival.
"This'll take ages. Long road ahead at this rate..."
"With that temperament, dying here might be kinder."
"No. Precisely because of it—once the shell cracks, he'll emerge a true warrior."
Each offered their view on Woo-gang.
Opinions varied, but all agreed: he must break free.
The jianghu was a world where survival demanded killing.
The first gate aimed to forge that ruthless edge.
Extreme, yes—pushing life-and-death to instill it.
Yet so far, he'd only honed footwork and senses.
Boom!
The elder's sword clashed fiercely with Woo-gang's spear; Woo-gang flew back like a severed kite, slamming into an ice wall.
"Guhhh!"
Woo-gang groaned in agony.
The elder charged without pause.
Screeeeech!
Boom!
Crack-crack-crack!
Woo-gang barely rolled aside; the sword buried deep in the ice.
Distanced, he deep-breathed through the pain.
The elder yanked his blade free.
"I'll kill you somehow."
Fuming, the elder glared, eyes wilder with madness.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Woo-gang eyed him wearily.
What now? Kill him? Is that the only way?
Confusion roiled within.
Fight and win as the elder urged, or find another path.
Crucial: this stalemate couldn't end like this.
Options swirled in his mind, deepening the turmoil.
No quick resolution.
Meanwhile, the elder resumed his onslaught.
Woo-gang mobilized every sense to block and evade.
His dilemma persisted amid the chaos.
How long had it been since Woo-gang entered the Hanchon Secret Cave?
No time to count days amid the relentless assaults; mentally and physically, he was drained.
No proper sleep, no rest, no qi recovery.
Still, he'd learned to replenish qi before total depletion—a small gain.
The elder showed no fatigue, hounding endlessly.
"Hoo..."
Woo-gang gripped his spear, facing the elder.
No trace of anguish lingered on his face.
Through the ordeals, he'd pondered deeply—and decided.
"That look says you've resolved. I await it. Though you'll be the one dying."
Thwack!
Before the words finished, Woo-gang struck first.
Channeling stored qi into his spear.
Fierce, razor-sharp assault unfolded.
The qi-infused spear brimmed with power.
"Yes! That's it!"
The elder bellowed, eyes bulging.
Thrilled, he met the spear with his sword.
Boom! Boom!
Spear and sword clashed repeatedly.
They parted, closed, parted again.
Woo-gang pressed on.
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from his spear.
No more hesitation, no mere evasion.
As if mirroring his iron will, the blaze roared fiercely, unquenchable.
Recalling his spars: unyielding heart had amplified his flames.
Here too.
The surging fire embodied his settled mind.
Facing the scorching heat, the elder's grin turned even more deranged.
"Raaah!"
The elder swung with a shout.
Boom!
Flames splintered on clash, slamming a wall.
Sizzle!
The blaze melted ice before fading; a deep gouge remained.
Screech!
Thud!
Each thrust, swing threatened the elder with searing fire.
Thrust, swing, smash downward at times.
Beyond blocking the spear, he contended with encroaching flames—chaos.
The elder's movements grew frantic.
Mad swings as always, but piercing Woo-gang's offense? No.
The dynamic flipped: from Woo-gang's desperate defense to aggressive onslaught.
"Hah!"
Woo-gang roared, sweeping the spear from behind in a crushing overhead strike.
Kaboom!
The elder raised his sword overhead to block.
But the trailing flames? Unstoppable.
Fwoosh!
They grazed his head, singeing hair.
Woo-gang slammed down harder, bouncing the sword.
As the reeling elder recovered—
Kaboom!
Fiercer than before.
The elder shuddered violently.
"You think I'll take this?!"
Roaring, he shoved Woo-gang's spear wide.
The force launched Woo-gang airborne, flipping backward.
Thud. Rip!
Landing, he coiled from toes and exploded forward.
Screeeeech!
Spear thrust with ferocious momentum.
A single piercing point; the elder countered with his sword.
Kabooooom!
The explosion rocked the cave.
Points collided: sword shattered; unable to withstand, the elder flew.
Thud!
He crashed hard.
Writhing in agony, he rose, propping on the hiltless guard.
Then—cold steel at his throat.
Woo-gang's spear.
"Kill me. Or I'll use every means to kill you again."
The elder stared up.
Woo-gang withdrew slowly.
One thrust would pierce the throat.
Screeeeech!
Woo-gang thrust.
Boom!
But into the ground beside the elder's neck.
"Didn't you hear?! Kill me, or you die!"
The elder bellowed in fury.
Woo-gang met it calmly.
"If you try to kill me a hundred times, I'll survive a hundred times."
This was Woo-gang's conclusion.
He turned away; the watching elders departed.
After endless days of combat echoes, silence finally settled in the cavern.