Chapter 86
After laughing heartily for a while, he looked straight at Uhak and spoke boldly.
"The Heavenly Sword Society's intelligence network is disappointing."
"What did you say?"
"Well, I won't blame you for not knowing his true nature. But your intelligence division needs a complete overhaul."
Bu Eun-seol gazed down at Uhak with icy eyes.
"His true nature and evil deeds have already been exposed to the world. Why are you still talking about the past?"
"This bastard's spouting nonsense."
"Investigate again."
"Hmph, there's no need. Judging by your tone—"
Bu Eun-seol coldly cut off Uhak's words.
"Don't you know that killing someone without proper investigation makes you the very evil person who murders the innocent?"
At that, Uhak fell silent, having nothing to say.
"You—"
"Fine."
At that moment, Seoksong, standing on the stone altar, let out a disbelieving laugh.
"If you're going to say such things, you must be prepared for the consequences."
"I don't need preparation."
Bu Eun-seol replied indifferently.
"Send someone to investigate immediately. If the Heavenly Sword Society has anything resembling an intelligence network, you'll find detailed records of his crimes."
"What did you say?"
Just then, a middle-aged man without a mask stumbled breathlessly through the altar's entrance.
He seemed to be a member of the Heavenly Sword Society.
"His words are true."
"What?"
As Seoksong and Uhak reacted with shock, the middle-aged man scratched his head and continued.
"As of yesterday, reports of 'his' crimes have spread across all intelligence networks in Murim."
The middle-aged man kept speaking in a low voice to Seoksong and Uhak.
Watching this unfold, Bu Eun-seol allowed a faint smile to form beneath his mask.
—I have a request.
Before leaving the Wandering Drifters, he had made one request to the Wolf Lord, Domyeong.
It was to gather evidence proving Yeop Hwa's atrocities and spread it across all intelligence networks.
Bu Eun-seol still had to travel the martial world.
And if he continued to bear the false accusation of killing a Renowned Chivalrous Hero of the Righteous Path, it would severely hinder his movements.
"Hmm."
After listening to the middle-aged man for a while, Seoksong and Uhak exchanged glances.
—Even if this turns out to be false, we can't deal with him now.
That was because of Bu Eun-seol's words.
What if they killed someone without proper investigation? And what if his innocence was later proven?
They would become exactly what they condemned—evil men who slaughtered innocent civilians.
"The truth will be revealed in due time."
As Uhak let out a heavy sigh, he narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"For now, we'll withhold judgment on you."
"Save your concern."
Bu Eun-seol replied flatly.
"Very soon, rumors of his crimes and depravity will spread not just through intelligence networks, but across all of Murim."
For the Wandering Drifters—a guild that took money to handle dangerous jobs—information was their lifeline, their very means of survival.
And since the information was guaranteed by the Wandering Drifters' leader, the rumors would spread like wildfire.
"If this turns out to be false, there will be no place left for you to stand."
"That won't happen."
At Bu Eun-seol's firm words, Uhak spoke again.
"Then let the exams begin."
Kugung!
A square-shaped wall rose from one side of the wide clearing.
And on its surface was an engraved painting.
"The first exam is to uncover the martial arts technique hidden within this painting."
The painting was bizarre, even colored.
Before a cliff in the snowy mountains, a woman wielding a dagger fought a tiger.
The tiger was depicted mid-lunge, baring its sharp claws and fangs, while the woman held three daggers in one hand, stabbing its neck, chest, and lower abdomen.
"If you discover the hidden technique, enter the door behind this altar. The Stone Elder there will judge whether you pass."
Uhak continued.
"You have two hours. If you fail to uncover the hidden martial arts technique within that time, you will be eliminated immediately."
At Seoksong's shout, the martial artists in the clearing rushed toward the wall.
—Twin swords are common in Murim, but no one wields three blades.
Standing at a distance, Bu Eun-seol frowned as he examined the painting.
There was another oddity.
While the tiger's ferocious face was clearly depicted, the woman's face was completely blank.
Given how sharply the other lines were drawn, it was clearly intentional.
—No matter how swift and fierce a tiger is, it can't defeat a martial master wielding a blade. And yet...
Though her face wasn't drawn, the woman's posture suggested she was panicking, forced into a defensive stance.
"Nothing special."
Just then, someone observing the painting turned and headed straight for the stone chamber.
It was Tang Gon, wearing his fox mask.
—Has he already discovered the hidden technique?
Leaving the murmuring crowd behind, he entered the door atop the altar.
After a brief silence, Seoksong's deep voice boomed.
"Pass."
At that, most of the martial artists in the clearing were visibly stunned, and a few even stamped their feet in shock.
"Ah, I see now!"
The man wearing a rat mask also seemed to have realized something, quickly ascending toward the door behind the altar.
But moments later, Seoksong's solemn voice rang out.
"Wrong."
The door opened again, and the rat-masked man emerged, scratching his head in embarrassment.
Seeing this, Uhak gestured toward the exit.
"You're eliminated."
"What?"
The rat-masked man's voice rose sharply in disbelief.
"You said we had two hours to figure it out! I never heard that getting it wrong meant elimination!"
"If your technique fails mid-battle, is that the end?"
Uhak spoke with a solemn expression.
"In real combat, failing a martial form could cost you your life. Are you telling me you didn't sense that from this painting?"
The rat-masked man stammered.
"I only thought there was a hidden martial technique form..."
"Consider this test no different from real combat. You don't get multiple chances to make mistakes."
Uhak's voice was stern.
Upon reflection, though they weren't fighting other competitors, this process was undeniably a competition.
Mistakes were intolerable. The man, hearing the mention of two hours, had rushed and committed a fatal error in his haste.
"I understand."
The rat-masked man gave a slight shudder before swiftly exiting through the doorway.
'Hmm.'
Bu Eun-seol, indifferent to the commotion, remained absorbed in the wall painting, having entered a state of selflessness.
'Indeed, it makes sense he noticed first.'
Like Tang Gon, Bu Eun-seol had already discerned the martial art concealed within the painting.
The painting didn't depict a woman merely holding three daggers—it showed her simultaneously throwing hidden weapons in three distinct directions.
'To unleash three different hidden weapon techniques with a single hand...'
While there were many techniques to throw dozens of hidden weapons in one move, those capable of launching different techniques with one hand were exceedingly rare.
'The tiger's posture must hold the secret to the hidden weapon technique.'
The tiger's face and lower abdomen were twisted in opposing directions.
Though it appeared dynamically poised to pounce, it actually symbolized the method of throwing hidden weapons in divergent trajectories.
"Passed."
Meanwhile, over a dozen masters had already advanced to the next stone chamber.
Though Bu Eun-seol had deciphered the martial technique form, he refrained from stepping onto the testing platform. Something felt undeniably off.
'There's something missing from this painting.'
An inexplicable sense of dissonance nagged at him.
Unable to shake the feeling, Bu Eun-seol continued studying the painting. By now, the empty plaza held only four remaining candidates, including him.
The other three, clearly struggling, stared at the painting with sweat-drenched brows.
'Not exceptional prodigies, it seems.'
Uhak shook his head slightly while observing Bu Eun-seol.
Despite possessing a remarkably impressive bearing, he seemed to be struggling even at the First Gate.
"Only a quarter of an hour remains."
At Uhak's words, the three remaining candidates startled and scrambled onto the testing platform behind the altar.
Yet Bu Eun-seol remained leisurely fixated on the painting.
'Hmm.'
The longer he looked, the more an odd sense of incongruity grew.
Statistically, encountering a tiger on a sheer cliff in the depths of winter was nearly impossible.
'Was it, though?'
Beneath the woman's feet—as if evading the tiger's leap—a few specks of snow scattered.
While this could be interpreted as depicting dynamic motion, to Bu Eun-seol's eyes, it resembled an exquisitely precise footwork stance.
'If one were to execute the hidden weapon technique while stepping in that footwork pattern...'
A technique to unleash three hidden weapons in one move. And the footwork synchronized with it.
Bu Eun-seol mentally visualized performing both martial arts simultaneously.
'This is...'
The moment realization struck, he finally entered the examination chamber. Inside, torches replaced lanterns, and Seoksong stood with solemn bearing.
"Can you identify the martial art within the painting?"
"A single fist technique's form."
"A fist technique?"
At this unexpected answer, a gleam flickered in Seoksong's eyes.
"Can you demonstrate which fist technique?"
Nodding, Bu Eun-seol simultaneously executed both the hidden weapon technique and footwork concealed in the painting.
Swish.
As his fist extended, it split into three shadowy afterimages, slicing through the air.
Merging the hidden weapon technique with footwork had astonishingly birthed an entirely novel fist technique.
"I see."
Seoksong gave an approving nod.
"You pass."
Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands lightly and moved to exit the chamber.
"Wait."
Seoksong's voice halted him.
"How did you know there were two martial arts in the painting?"
"What do you mean?"
"We gave you a limited time—two hours. And we asked you to find the martial art within the painting."
Seoksong narrowed his eyes.
"In a competitive setting with a time limit, people instinctively seek the single fastest solution. That is human nature."
Pausing briefly, he asked in a low voice,
"Why did you uncover two?"
"You never said there was only one martial art."
"Did you feel no impatience?"
"You said to solve it within the time limit—not that it was a race."
Bu Eun-seol replied with nonchalance.
"I simply sought everything I could discover within that time."
Though a simple answer, admiration shimmered in Seoksong's gaze.
He recognized that Bu Eun-seol possessed eyes that pierced through to the essence.
"Most who passed only identified one hidden weapon technique and moved on."
A faint smile touched Seoksong's lips.
"A few exceptional prodigies noticed the footwork too. But none synthesized both into a new fist technique as you did."
Seoksong studied Bu Eun-seol and nodded.
"I'll anticipate your performance at the next gate."
"Understood."
Even under Seoksong's intense gaze, Bu Eun-seol showed no particular reaction before proceeding onward.
"His disposition is too cold. Composure is good, but it also breeds many enemies."
Seoksong clicked his tongue.
He instantly recognized Bu Eun-seol as possessing the finest talent among all assembled prodigies.
Yet his personality seemed aloof and, in some ways, ruthless. Such traits bred isolation, often leaving one to walk the martial world alone despite unmatched prowess.
"Our society was founded by masters who grew weary of solitary dominance."
The martial world was no place to survive alone. From this perspective, Seoksong felt a twinge of regret for Bu Eun-seol.
"Perhaps this is unnecessary concern."
Now was not the time to be picky about a prodigy's personality.
The Thousand Swords Society desperately needed to find a talent capable of mastering their newly devised sword techniques—someone who could absolutely kill him.