Chapter 58
----------------------------------------------------------------- Translator: Wjin Chapter: 58 Chapter Title: How about a Spar? (3) -----------------------------------------------------------------
"This must be the place."
Beomheuk the Black Escort Agent turned toward the rear of the Diamond Escort Agency's main compound, his eyes alight with anticipation.
The front yard was a whirlwind of activity—escort contracts being signed, cargo being loaded—so he couldn't even set foot there and had circled around along the wall instead. But his gaze brimmed with curiosity.
Having roamed the Central Plains learning martial arts from Kang Moo-jin, he was already thrilled at the prospect of life as an escort agent.
"Hm?"
Arriving at the back, Beomheuk spotted two doors.
Between them, massive boulders formed a makeshift wall along the outer barrier—one door labeled Beginner Escort Agent Recruitment, the other Skilled Escort Agent Recruitment.
It looked like someone with immense strength had casually gathered nearby rocks to build it.
"Hmm... Skilled it is, then?"
After a moment's thought, Beomheuk headed for the Skilled Escort Agent door.
His experience as an escort agent might be limited, but he was undeniably a first-rate martial artist.
With that level of combat prowess—one of the key requirements for the job—he figured beginner wasn't for him.
"Gah!"
Stepping inside, Beomheuk's pupils trembled violently.
There, standing in the center of the open training ground, was the one he'd longed to see: Golden Ghost Indestructible Kang Moo-jin.
"Haat!"
An escort applicant poured his inner energy into his clenched fist and slammed it into Moo-jin's abdomen.
It was a full-power Red Sand Palm, but Moo-jin gazed down at him with calm indifference, rendering the effort pointless.
"Fail. Head to the beginner recruitment hall."
"...Yes. Understood."
The applicant's shoulders slumped in dejection as he trudged toward the opposite door.
"Excuse me. What in the world is going on here?"
Beomheuk sidled up to a middle-aged man waiting in line ahead of him.
"Hm? You didn't hear the explanation earlier?"
"Just arrived, so no."
"Ah, got it. That's the first test. You unleash your best martial art full-force on Chief Kang here, and it decides pass or fail."
"...!?"
Beomheuk's eyes widened in shock.
"What if you injure Chief Kang's noble body?!"
"...?"
Now it was the middle-aged man's turn to look stunned.
Noble body?! Spouting nonsense like that could doom three generations of your family!
"No injuries on Chief Kang so far?"
"Don't worry. Over a hundred applicants have tried their arts on him already, and not a single scratch."
At first, everyone had been baffled. The skilled recruitment drew real heavy-hitters, after all.
But within half a shichen, shock had replaced the skepticism.
Not even famed wanderers or reclusive masters' disciples could so much as nick him—no wounds, no scratches.
"Already snapped ten precious swords. My take? No one's hurting Chief Kang. That's why they run the test like this."
"As expected... incredible."
Beomheuk's gaze on Moo-jin deepened with respect.
That lofty stance, declaring their attacks futile—it melted his heart like a maiden's.
"Hey, Golden Ghost Indestructible. Isn't this a bit much, looking down on us? Just swing away, huh? What if we kill you by accident?"
The black-clad warrior known as Mujin-ja—the Dustless Sword—scowled, his lips twitching with irritation.
"Thinks stacking a little name against righteous sect punks makes him hot stuff. Hubris like that'll get you killed."
Mujin-ja, in his mid-twenties and at the peak of first-rate, was the top dog in his little North Hebei village.
He'd lived as the best there, figuring the gap between him and Kang Moo-jin wasn't that wide.
Moo-jin just had better connections and opportunities. Give him the same, and he could match that level easy.
"Shut it. If you're not swinging, get out."
"...Fine. I'll carve a scar on that fancy body you'll carry forever."
Fuming at the dismissal, Mujin-ja gripped his sword with both hands, channeling qi as he unleashed his signature sword art at full power.
"Haat!"
Whooosh—!
His blade sliced horizontally through the air toward Kang Moo-jin's chest.
Slash—!
It looked the same as before at a glance. But this time, Moo-jin's expression hardened.
"...!!"
Mujin-ja's sword had deeply gashed the chest of Moo-jin's feathered wind robe.
"Kuhaha! I scarred the Golden Ghost Indestructi—huh?"
Mujin-ja's smug grin faltered as he tilted his head.
Up close, only the robe was cut—Moo-jin's body was unscathed.
"H-how'd you take my ultimate technique without a mark?!"
"You... damn bastard!"
Moo-jin's face twisted in demonic rage as he seized Mujin-ja by the collar.
"Eek!"
Several Haomen disciples blanched at the sight of the torn feathered wind robe.
"I said swing at my armed forearm. Now the robe's ruined, you punk!"
Moo-jin had rolled up his sleeves on purpose to protect the precious garment.
And this fool dared scar it?!
"You're dead."
Moo-jin's eyes blazed as his fist rocketed toward Mujin-ja's face.
"Gah!?"
Panicking, Mujin-ja leaped back into the air to dodge.
But Moo-jin's punch outpaced even his rising feet.
Splat—!
A sound like an egg cracking echoed as white foam bubbled from Mujin-ja's mouth.
"Gurk..."
His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.
"Well, looks like Mujin-ja just became a eunuch."
After Moo-jin changed into a fresh feathered wind robe, the tests resumed following a brief pause.
Aside from the eunuch wannabe Mujin-ja—who'd never sire offspring again—everyone else behaved, took their results, and moved on.
And after an hour of waiting, it was finally the Black Escort Agent's turn.
"Next."
"Pleased to meet you. Beomheuk the Black Escort Agent."
"Kang Moo-jin."
Moo-jin gave a curt greeting and beckoned him forward with a finger.
The crowd behind murmured at the nickname, but Moo-jin ignored them.
Famous or not, they were all the same to him.
"Right to it, then. Hah!"
With a booming shout, Beomheuk charged Moo-jin.
Dark blue lightning crackled over his palms as he unleashed Vast Thunder Palm with both hands.
"...!"
The razor-sharp palm strike, infused with lightning, shot toward Moo-jin's forearm.
Rumble—!
Penetrating Force followed the piercing thunder.
This technique flooded the foe's body with qi to ravage from within; combined with Vast Thunder Palm, the thunder qi shredded meridians.
"How's my palm str—argh!"
Convinced he'd at least surprise the Golden Ghost Indestructible, Beomheuk was hurled back, tumbling across the ground.
The Penetrating Force he'd injected had rebounded like a reflection, shocking him badly.
"H-how?!"
Penetrating Force bouncing back? He'd never heard or seen such a thing.
"Hm. Not bad..."
"W-wait. Not done yet!"
"...? Your arms are useless now."
Beomheuk's arms dangled, blue and limp—the impact like smashing rock had dislocated his bones.
"Ever been to the Western Markets?"
"...?"
"They've got this weird bird called an ostrich. Can't fly, but those legs pack a punch."
Beomheuk leaped into the air, raising one leg high overhead.
"I can be plenty strong on two legs too!"
"You should stop."
"Can't end like this. I'm becoming a Diamond Escort Agent!"
Beomheuk stomped vertically down at Moo-jin's crown.
Boom—!
Heel met skull with a sonic boom,
"Argh!"
and Beomheuk rolled away, ankle snapped.
"Tch. Told you to stop."
"Ugh... Failed, huh."
"...? You passed. Next test's that way."
"...O? Passed?!"
Elated, the Black Escort Agent hopped up on one foot.
"Passed from the first strike."
"...! Had no idea. Thought I'd failed."
"Should've let me finish talking."
"Heh, thanks. I'll ace the next one and learn from you for sure."
With a bold one-legged stride and unique declaration, the Black Escort Agent headed to the next test site.
And flunked it an incense stick later.
"W-why?!"
His pupils quaked.
"Why's an escort agent taking a geography exam?!"
"Heh. Because to be one..."
"you gotta know your routes cold."
The Black-White Twin Freaks—one in snow-white robes, the other in jet-black—took turns speaking.
"Hauling cargo..."
"demands geography smarts."
"Blind fools who can't read a map..."
"ain't skilled agents!"
"...Grr!"
They could've just explained nicely. But the mockery made the Black Escort Agent bite his lip.
He wanted to throw down, but thoughts of Chief Kang quelled his ire.
"So I'm out?"
"Heh. Not failed."
"Beginner hall..."
"will do."
"...Geez, you two talk in the most annoying way."
Glaring irritably, he limped toward the beginner recruitment hall.
"Sticking around?"
"Not leaving?"
A glint lit the Twin Freaks' eyes.
Most skilled rejects bruised their pride and bailed on the agency.
"Duh? Chance to learn from Chief Kang? Pride can shove it."
Grumbling, the Black Escort Agent departed their vicinity.
Having reset his dislocated ankle and wrist, he arrived at beginner recruitment to find two lines.
A short one with dozens, and a long one packed. They separated the martial prodigies from the untrained or low-skill applicants.
"Next applicant."
Crouched in a corner, the Black Escort Agent stepped to the center.
There stood a woman of painting-like beauty: Won Yu-hwa.
"Okay, treat it like sparring and attack me."
"...? Attack a lady...?"
As he hesitated, Won Yu-hwa swung first.
"...!"
Her blade was a blur—only an afterimage to his eyes—as he urgently arched back.
"Ngh!"
Barely dodging, a chill ran through him. He spun midair, retreating with his signature backward cloud-treading step.
"Quick reflexes."
"...You're amazing."
Tensing, the Black Escort Agent swallowed hard.
Her skills were no joke—he couldn't underestimate her for being a woman.
"Sorry for doubting. I'll go all out."
"No need. Join the left line."
"...?"
"Your form says it all. Pass."
"...O!"
Forgetting the pain at "pass," he joined the left line—the one for martial standouts.
"Oh, wait. Black Escort Agent, right? Front of the line, please."
"...!"
Validated, he practically skipped to the head.
Top of even this elite group—his mood soared.
'As expected... the Diamond Escort Agency's different!'
Their systematic sorting made his lips twitch in a grin.