The Fool Steps Forward
Even Senior Sister Hong won’t say anything about it.
“She probably will, though…”
“No, she won’t. If Senior Sister Hong says anything, then you can stop.”
When Geum Seo-jin insisted so firmly, Dan Yeop reluctantly accepted her kindness.
With Geum Seo-jin’s help, Dan Yeop trained in the Thousand Blades Technique.
The two of them continued practicing even after finishing dinner.
Contrary to Dan Yeop’s worries, Hong Cho-yeon did not return to the Jeommun training hall again.
Geum Seo-jin visited the Jeommun training hall again the next afternoon.
But Dan Yeop’s progress was the problem.
Despite Geum Seo-jin teaching until her throat grew hoarse, Dan Yeop could not move past the third motion of the second form.
“No, from there you step right while executing a left slash! Then another step with a right slash! Bring the blade back in front of your chest!”
Veins stood out on Geum Seo-jin’s neck.
Dan Yeop’s face flushed bright red with shame.
The more she pressed him, the more his mind went blank, until eventually he couldn’t do anything at all.
When he simply stood there frozen, Geum Seo-jin let out a long sigh.
“Haa! Senior Dan, what are you doing?”
“Ah, um… what was I doing just now? First form? Second form?”
“…You were on the sixth motion of the second form.”
“I was?”
“Who else is here? Haa! What’s the problem exactly?”
Her words struck like arrows. Dan Yeop’s shoulders slumped.
The tip of his straight blade touched the stone floor with a dull clack, but he was too exhausted in body and mind to lift it.
Geum Seo-jin stared at his weary face and slowly shook her head.
At this rate, he’ll never pass the examination…
Dan Yeop spent the entire day practicing the second form yet couldn’t even memorize three motions.
Mastering it in the remaining three days would be nothing short of a miracle.
“It’s already late today, so I’ll head back. You should rest too, Senior.”
“Thank you. And starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come. Junior Sister Geum, you should prepare for your own examination.”
“…Understood.”
Though reluctant, Geum Seo-jin accepted reality.
Helping someone else only made sense if there was even the slightest chance of success.
She couldn’t waste her time on something that was clearly hopeless.
If it were the unrivaled genius Baek Yu-hwa, maybe things would be different.
Even she had a mountain of preparations to make for the examination in three days.
Geum Seo-jin left first, leaving Dan Yeop alone in the training hall.
He placed his straight blade on the rack and looked around the empty space.
He had trained here from morning until late at night, yet he had only managed three motions of the second form.
When he practiced with Baek Yu-hwa, everything had felt hopeful. He couldn’t understand why it had come to this.
“Haa… I have to pass the examination…”
If it were him—the other version of himself who had crushed Deung-pyeong and Yu Ja-cho—the examination would be no problem at all.
He even knew how to wake that other self.
But doing so would drive his own body into a state of qi deviation.
Was it right to harm his own body just to pass the examination?
Dan Yeop’s steps as he left the Jeommun training hall were heavier than they had ever been.
16. Dan Yeop, Step Forward!
In Byeongmachong, Dan Yeop was a loner.
After falling behind in the first generation and it becoming known that he hadn’t mastered a single martial art in ten years, not only the trainees but even the martial instructors of the Six Branches stopped paying him any attention.
For the remaining three days, he practically lived inside the Jeommun training hall.
He had never trained this desperately even when the first and second generations took their examinations.
He clung to the Thousand Blades Technique with frantic determination.
Yet his progress never surpassed the first three motions of the second form.
The harder he tried, the more he focused, the further the Thousand Blades Technique slipped away from him.
The day before the examination.
Late at night, Go Muk, the Jeommun martial instructor who had been watching Dan Yeop struggle alone, secretly visited Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi.
“Chief Instructor Dan.”
“Oh my! Instructor Go, what brings you here at this hour?”
Facing Dan Bul-wi’s sly gaze, Go Muk spoke directly.
“Last year you opposed Dan Yeop taking the examination. Has your opinion remained the same this year?”
“Why are you suddenly…”
“You know he’s been preparing for the examination, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“He is aiming to pass, but it seems difficult again this year. He has no talent for martial arts. To comprehend the Thousand Blades Technique, he’ll need at least another ten years of training.”
“Hmm…”
Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi nodded with an indifferent expression.
Seeing this, Go Muk continued in a subtle tone.
“Since he wants to leave so badly, wouldn’t it be better to just let him go? Keeping him here is a waste of time for both sides, don’t you think? Haomun doesn’t only need warriors, does it?”
It was a reasonable argument.
However, Dan Bul-wi had no intention of accepting it.
Because the other Dan Yeop, the one with genius talent, did not wish for it.
“Instructor Go, although Dan Yeop is my adopted son, I have no intention of giving him special treatment. Nor should I.”
“Even though he desires it so much?”
“I want Dan Yeop to go out into the world and stand on his own two feet. I hope you can understand my heart on this matter.”
“Even if he isn’t a warrior, there are plenty of positions in Haomun where he could…”
“Then he would undoubtedly live a life at the very bottom. Am I wrong?”
Dan Bul-wi stared steadily into Go Muk’s eyes.
Go Muk, who had been meeting his gaze, subtly looked away.
Damn it, what kind of eyes are those…
Even though Dan Bul-wi had become a Hyangju much later than him, Go Muk had the feeling he would lose if they fought.
“In any case, I would appreciate it if you handled Dan Yeop strictly according to the rules.”
“Ahem, understood. I will follow your wishes, Chief Instructor Dan. Then, how should we proceed with Dan Yeop’s guidance from now on?”
It was a roundabout way of saying that Dan Yeop had been completely neglected since the first generation left.
“Just leave him to figure things out on his own.”
In other words, stop paying attention to him.
At such an irresponsible answer, Go Muk secretly studied Dan Bul-wi’s expression.
The man who had once said not to let him leave until he could pull his own weight was now saying to leave him alone.
Just leave a guy who can’t even perform a single motion of the Thousand Blades Technique to his own devices?
Go Muk couldn’t tell whether this was meant to help Dan Yeop or to ruin him.
Though uneasy, since Dan Bul-wi was the boy’s guardian, Go Muk said no more.
The morning of the examination.
The dining hall.
Normally, the greatest beauty of Byeongmachong, Hong Cho-yeon, would be the center of attention, but on examination day, all eyes were on Baek Yu-hwa.
“Senior Sister Baek Yu-hwa will definitely take first place, right? I heard the top scorer becomes squad leader regardless of generation… I’m so jealous.”
“Squad leader is equivalent to Munwi rank, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Whoa, becoming a Munwi in your teens. That means she could even become a Hyangju in her twenties.”
In Haomun, the average age for a Munwi was the thirties, and for a Hyangju, the forties.
So becoming a Munwi in one’s teens was quite an extraordinary feat.
In a corner seat, Dan Yeop ate his jeonbyeong—a round, flat flour pancake—alone and quietly turned his head.
Baek Yu-hwa was sitting among the third-generation students.
Even though she was far away, her image appeared as clear to him as if she were sitting right in front of him.
The way her eyelashes fluttered when she took a bite, the careful motion of her hand as she dabbed her lips—everything moved slowly and dreamily in his eyes.
Every time she let out a soft laugh at the jokes around her, Dan Yeop’s heart ached.
Finally, as if having made up his mind about something, he clenched his fist tightly.
After finishing breakfast and returning to his quarters, Dan Yeop’s expression was grave.
The Thousand Blades Technique was still stuck at the beginning of the second form.
At this rate, he would only become a laughingstock in front of his juniors.
There was no way the Six Branches’ martial instructors would allow him to pass unless they had all gone insane.
Dan Yeop did not want to be the butt of their jokes this time.
No—he wanted to overcome that and leave Byeongmachong together with the third-generation students.
Sitting at the desk, he began to write a letter.
Right after finishing, he rolled the letter up, clutched it in his hand, and raised his internal energy.
The power rising from his dantian rushed straight to his Heavenly Eye before he could even control it.
Flash—!
With an intense burst of light, Dan Yeop opened his eyes wide.
Soon after, he noticed himself sitting at the desk and muttered.
“What is this?”
He had assumed the situation must have been urgent enough for the foolish Dan Yeop to use internal energy, but it was far too peaceful.
After lightly scanning his surroundings, he unfolded the letter he was holding.
The content was simple.
A desperate plea to please pass the examination.
“Let me pass the examination? You’re asking for trouble.”
He tucked the letter into his robes and stood up.
He had fallen asleep before the date of the examination was set, yet he had woken up on the very day of the test?
That meant the fool hadn’t trained his internal energy at all during that time.
“Look at this. You really struggled with everything you had just to keep me from waking up.”
It was absurd, but even he couldn’t do anything about that part.
“Now what?”
While Dan Yeop sat there with a dazed expression, the faint sound of a bell calling for assembly drifted in from afar.
“…Next is the Thousand Blades Technique. Those trainees who have comprehended it, step forward.”
At Yoo Oh-san’s words, all twenty-five third-generation trainees moved at once.
Yoo Oh-san, who had been observing the third-generation students, tilted his head in confusion.
The first-generation student Dan Yeop, who had desperately participated every year, was sitting there blankly.
“Dan Yeop! Are you giving up this year?”
“Yes!”
“I see. Then the third-generation students will…”
“Wait!”
Ma Sang, the overall person in charge of Byeongmachong, cut off Yoo Oh-san’s words.
All eyes turned to Ma Sang, who had suddenly interrupted.
“Chief Yoo, giving up before even starting? The atmosphere in Byeongmachong’s training grounds has become far too soft. Trainees have no choice in the matter. Make them demonstrate everything they have achieved to the best of their ability.”
Reprimanded by the person in charge, Yoo Oh-san hurriedly called out to Dan Yeop.
“Dan Yeop, step forward!”
The slightly excited atmosphere of the examination, which had been tense with anticipation, sank heavily.
With no other choice, Dan Yeop stepped forward and stood beside the third-generation students.
The demonstration of the Thousand Blades Technique soon began.
The third-generation students simultaneously drew their straight blades and executed the first form, Heavenly Thunder Falling Slash.
After nine continuous motions, they transitioned into the second form, Horizontal Sweep Mountain Cleaver.
Dan Yeop followed along halfway, then began making obvious empty swings for the rest.
Normally, laughter would have erupted from the watching trainees, but today everyone remained silent.
Seeing that the chiefs’ moods had soured, no one even dared to breathe loudly.
The third-generation students performed the third form, Wind and Cloud Mutual Transformation, as if they were a single person, then stopped.
A beat later, Dan Yeop’s ridiculous blade technique also came to an end.
Ma Sang, the person in overall charge, called out to Go Muk, the Jeommun instructor.
“Yes, Chief.”
As soon as Go Muk approached, Ma Sang kicked him hard in the shin without warning.
“Ugh!”
Go Muk staggered backward with a short groan.
“You bastard! After thirteen years, this is all you’ve taught him? And you still call yourself a martial instructor? Huh? They say even a dog in a school for three years learns to recite poetry! A perfectly fine kid! After thirteen whole years, he still hasn’t comprehended even a single motion of the Thousand Blades Technique. Does that make any sense?”
Go Muk felt wronged, but he kept silent, afraid that making excuses would only earn him more kicks.
“The first and second generations are out there eating blade-rations, yet you’re all warm and well-fed here! Is that all it takes to make you happy? Do you think this place is some kind of breeding farm? That just fattening them up is enough?”
Though the words were directed at Go Muk, Ma Sang’s eyes were glaring straight at Dan Yeop.
Dan Yeop flinched and quietly lowered his gaze.
After turning the entire examination hall upside down, Ma Sang disappeared along with the three other chiefs.
A short while later, the martial instructors of the Six Branches announced the results.
Once again, only Dan Yeop had failed.
The third-generation students returned to their quarters to pack their belongings, and the examin—