Those Chasing the Dragon (2)
At the moment the first gate of the Murim Academy's regular admission exam concluded, the ones burning with the hottest fervor were the disciples of the prestigious sects.
The disciples from the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families, along with those from the powerful 108 Peaks sects, hadn't failed to subjugate the bandit stronghold due to lack of skill—they'd simply missed the opportunity. Their rage and obsession now turned toward those who had passed the first gate.
"Scattered skirmishes are already breaking out everywhere. Many disciples from the 108 Peaks have been eliminated in the process, and in severe cases, entire squads have been wiped out."
The contradictory part was that no one had drawn their swords against the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families.
"Of course, that's only for the first gate."
As they advanced to the second and third gates, even those wary of the powerful sects might launch desperate all-or-nothing attacks—but nothing like that had happened yet.
"Right now, the most dangerous one is you, Sowoon."
It was almost inevitable. The Twin Curtain Stronghold, one of the Seventy-Two Green Forest Bandit Strongholds. Actually consisting of the Flower Curtain and Gold Curtain Strongholds, subjugating them had yielded eight first-gate passes—enough to whet their appetites. Add the two passes Bang Du-chil had personally, and that made ten in total.
"I'm prepared for it."
Even in his previous life, he'd always been an easy target, but never one that made them salivate like this.
"Right now, sects like the Yellow Sword Sect and Blue Path Sect, major players in Zhejiang Province holding the 23rd and 32nd peaks of the 108 Peaks, are already heading toward Cheonmok Mountain."
"Already?"
My face stiffened involuntarily.
The Yellow Sword Sect and Blue Path Sect were the longstanding overlords of Zhejiang Province. In his previous life, each had sent one disciple to the Murim Academy. Their movement now was a deviation from that timeline.
"The Beggars' Sect is already focusing on you."
We were the juiciest prey and the most valuable intel. As the weakest group with the most passes, plenty would pay a fortune for information on us.
"We're spreading other intel as much as possible, but..."
Yang Gunbaek spoke with the face of a man confessing high treason.
There would naturally be discrepancies in reliability between the Beggars' Sect, which handled a pillar of the Murim Alliance and received real-time exam updates, and the Haomen, which gathered info on foot. Moreover, blurring my information by feeding them fakes would erode Haomen's credibility.
"No. I don't want actions that crack Haomen's trust."
"Pardon?"
"If Haomen's reliability drops, it becomes harder for me to use it later, doesn't it?"
"...But if we do that... you'll really be in grave danger, Sowoon."
"I'm a guest of Haomen, not an enemy."
Tears welled up in Yang Gunbaek's eyes. Not wanting to see a man's tears, I quickly changed the subject.
"First, how long until we encounter the Yellow Sword Sect and Blue Path Sect?"
"There's a four-day distance difference... but the moment you delay, that gap closes in an instant."
A shadow darker than ever fell over Yang Gunbaek's face.
*
Still before dawn, during the in-si hour (3-5 AM). As I stepped out to fetch my junior brothers...
The village chief Heo stood in the hallway, back turned, puffing on his pipe with the bear tobacco blend.
"Elder."
"...Awake already?"
"Yes."
"Leaving early, I see."
"Yes. We need to move quickly."
"Got a moment?"
I glanced at the room where the gold-silver-bronze brothers slept, then nodded. Refusing would have been awkward—regret filled the chief's face.
He and the villagers had wanted to throw a feast even if it meant emptying their pockets, but with the Yellow Sword Sect and Blue Path Sect hot on our heels, we couldn't linger like fools. We'd politely declined.
"Not for long."
"Won't take much time."
Heo led me to the vegetable patch behind the inn. The unmanaged, withered plants looked wretched, but he ignored them and started digging in one corner.
"About a ilgapsa ago. Right after I inherited the inn from my father and started running it, the taste changed, and business was dead—flies buzzing everywhere."
He quietly unraveled his incomprehensible past tale as he dug.
"That day, as I was about to dump all the dough I'd kneaded... in comes this ragged old monk looking like a beggar."
Judging the depth right, he carefully scraped around with his hoe.
"I said business was bad, no alms to give. He laughed heartily and asked for just one bowl of noodles. Obviously no money... but with dough already wasted, I figured it was alms and made him some."
After digging a while, something caught in the soil. He carefully extracted a small bundle.
Buried so long, parts of the oilcloth wrapper crumbled away with the dirt.
"Sure enough, after finishing the noodles, he claimed no money. I shrugged it off and was gonna let him go, but he insisted on entrusting me with something. I refused several times, but ended up taking it anyway."
The bundle was wrapped in layers of cloth. Peeling them revealed an oiled leather pouch, and inside that, the tightly bound item.
"But the old monk never came back. Ten years, twenty years passed. I don't believe in Buddha, so I thought of tossing it, but it emanated a strange aura."
From the final pouch emerged prayer beads of various colored relics and a small wooden box.
"Wearing them strangely cleared my stray thoughts and calmed my mind. This item was too mysterious; I never dared open the box."
Handing over the beads as he spoke. As I took them wordlessly, the tangled mess in my head from last night's worries over the sects oddly cleared.
"No way..."
I immediately rifled through my mental library.
Opening the Murim Alliance's Simhyeongak secrets to the wondrous items section.
One of the Seven Great Sacred Treasures listed there.
The Demon-Subduing Spirit Beads, which should be enshrined in Shaolin's deepest sanctum, were now in my hand.
"How is this..."
The Demon-Subduing Spirit Beads were crafted from the single sarira relic of each high-virtue monk after their passing, strung into 108 beads. Given to those entering secluded meditation in the inner sanctum, they imbued divine Buddha power, making it a sacred relic.
Not only did it take ages to create, but using 108 sarira gave it power equivalent to 108 stone pagodas.
"Is it valuable?"
Heo looked anxious, like someone appraising a long-held antique.
"...It's beyond value or worth."
It was the sacred item Small Justice Squad members desperately craved on the frontlines against the Demonic Cult.
The Demonic Cult had many who twisted the Heavenly Demon Scripture for sorcery. This sorcery didn't destroy physically but muddied the mind and shattered reason.
On the battlefield, more died from invading demonic energy rotting their brains than sword wounds, yet the Murim Alliance withheld all sacred items during the war.
Just nonsense about reciting anti-demon incantations to steady the heart.
Now I understood why the Murim Alliance and Shaolin never deployed their ultimate sacred relic, the Demon-Subduing Beads, against the Demonic Cult.
They couldn't admit they didn't have it.
"My guess was right. My guess was spot on."
Heo smiled faintly for the first time, but I couldn't comprehend.
An ilgapsa ago was when Shaolin's Abbot Suheo Daejang held office. Such a relic couldn't leave without the abbot's permission, and all removals were recorded.
No monk of that era wandered in beggar guise claiming enlightenment.
"Didn't anyone from Shaolin come looking?"
"Was this Shaolin's?"
Heo seemed unaware.
"Yes."
"Heh, so it was."
"Why not track the owner?"
"A bumpkin like me, knowing who owns such a treasure and inquiring? Know what that'd bring?"
Rumors could lead to outlaws massacring his family. I nodded in understanding.
"Shall I open this too?"
"...Doesn't it have an owner?"
"I've thought it over. It was for noodle payment, but ultimately payment received. And after 60 years with no claim, it's mine fair and square."
A smile crept onto my lips. Shaolin had many anti-demon relics, yet none surfaced in the war. They hadn't vanished—they hid to protect pride, unable to admit loss.
Sly bastards.
"You truly sold noodles for the highest price under heaven."
"Enough chatter—open it."
I nodded and opened the box. With a pop of escaping air, a clear fragrance wafted out.
Not the dirt-stinking patch, but deep in a lush forest.
"What is it?"
Heo swallowed, and I nodded.
"It's called Sohwan Dan. Heard of it?"
Even commoners knew of Sohwan Dan.
"The elixir that revives the dead?"
"Not quite, but for ordinary folk, lifelong health and longevity. For martial artists..."
"What then?"
"What's the point explaining? Instant inner power worth 15 years of cultivation. That's why in the jianghu, Sohwan Dan and Great Return Pills are top elixirs."
"Heh, that good?"
"If well digested."
Heo stroked his beard, nodding small. "Well done. Well done." Praising himself for hiding it.
"Must've been curious all these years. You endured well."
"No, without reason, I wouldn't have. I've seen countless die over treasures with my own eyes."
"I see."
What sparked revealing this secret after 60 years, even knowing its worth?
I handed back the box. But oddly, Heo refused.
"Eh?"
"You eat it."
Had I misheard? I asked again.
"Elder, didn't you hear? For normals, no ailments; for martial artists..."
"I know. But one pill won't upend heaven and earth."
"..."
"If my grandson wants to learn martial arts, send him to a local school. Lingering elixir aura invites suspicion and disaster."
I understood his worry, but considering his endurance, I couldn't accept such treasure.
"Elder, this is too much."
"Wouldn't have shown if not you."
"Pardon?"
"I've seen countless people over years. No Murim Alliance hero, no righteous envoy ever drew sword for us. Their justice and righteousness? All self-serving."
Not all, but most. Some sects even punished accumulating grudges with black paths over powerless folk.
"You're the first. So, for you."
"...Elder."
"If it's so precious, owe me a debt. I'd like a reliable backer to lean on, like others."
His words eased the burden. I couldn't refuse.
"Then for my juniors..."
"No, you eat it."
"Pardon?"
"Safest if no one knows even the evidence."
"..."
Heo insistently watched the Sohwan Dan enter my mouth. The moment it touched my tongue, it dissolved unbelievably fast despite aging an ilgapsa, sliding down my throat.
Instant inner power equivalent to 15 years of cultivation. Clears mind, boosts longevity.
"Good. Good. Finally found its owner."
Heo grinned uncontrollably.
"Oh, take this too. Give to your juniors or return to owner—your call. I'll pretend ignorance."
He must've resolved after seeing Dongryong's near-madness from poison. Rumors via me could endanger his family, so much hesitation.
Moved by his courage for us, I bowed deeply in thanks.
"Thank you, Elder."
"...Enough. From now, I'll boast you're my backer."
Perhaps the rising sun, but his face flushed red. He scurried inside lest I notice.
#
Jin Sowoon's group left Cheonmok Mountain, heading north. After crossing Zhejiang, they'd pivot northwest—optimal for the impending second gate and unannounced third.
Chaeng! Chaeng chaeng!
"Dongryong! Don't charge out!"
"O-okay!"
"Hold on a bit! Big brother's coming!"
Geum Pyo's desperate shout reached the heavens, and screams erupted from the rear.
"Kwaaak!"
"A-ambush!"
The eight attackers encircling the gold-silver-bronze brothers faltered at Jin Sowoon's assault. In that gap, the brothers intensified their sword formation, striking front and rear to end the fight swiftly.
"Haa, haa. Damn it."
"Shit."
Profanity spilled from the gold-silver-bronze brothers, who never cursed leaving Tae-eul Gate.
Second ambush already. Not even two days from Cheonmok Mountain. Disciples and warriors from Hongseon Sect in Zhejiang's Antang Mountain.
Mystery how they reached near Cheonmok so fast from Zhejiang's edge, but no time to ponder.
"Heads up! More coming!"
"Damn."
Eunho cursed at Jin Sowoon's warning, but Geum Pyo and Jin Sowoon barely blinked. Two fierce battles, but thankfully half inner power remained—thanks to desperate Tae-eul Haenggong.
No more questioning such cumbersome arts. Without it, they'd be dead several times over.
Despite desperate circulation, as inner power neared depletion...
Sunset came, ending that day's ambushes.
"Think it'll get worse?"
Hiding deep in mountains to evade pursuers, no fire, chewing jerky.
"Easier to think this is the calm before the storm."
"..."
Eunho felt dizzy at Jin Sowoon's words. Then, a realization struck.
"Second gate! It hasn't started yet, right?"
"As if."
Jin Sowoon looked incredulous. Eunho grimaced, chewing jerky like sand.
"Already started?"
"Got it with the first-gate pass."
Jin Sowoon showed the second-gate notice from the Hangzhou branch chief.
Second Gate: Self-Development Test - Secure Inner Core
Content: Murim Academy students must strive for self-improvement. A warrior's basic growth is increasing inner power. Secure inner cores to bolster inner power.
Conditions: Exchange one 10-year inner core for one second-gate pass. Max 3 passes per core. No distinction between spirit beast or demonic beast cores.
Eunho's eyes bulged like a rabbit's.
"Big bro, since when are inner cores like neighborhood bear gallbladders?"
Jin Sowoon smiled bitterly instead of answering.
"No, seriously—not a joke. What bullshit is this?"
Geum Pyo and Dongryong frowned at the notice too.
"Crazy bastards."
Spirit beasts/demonic beasts. Creatures in untouched nature absorbing mystical qi, living beyond normal lifespans.
A tiger larger than normal? Spirit beast. Attacks humans? Demonic.
But those forming inner cores after long lives? Rare. They either harm humans pre-core and die, or get hunted.
A 10-year core matched a 30-year external art warrior. First-gate passers must fend off rivals while hunting.
"This isn't a test meant to be passed."
Jin Sowoon pointed at the notice.
"Look closely. What's the intent?"
Geum Pyo and Dongryong tilted heads cluelessly. Eunho scrutinized by moonlight.
'Test intent?'
Deep in thought, Eunho spotted the oddity.
"Secure inner core, but no 'hunt personally' requirement."
Geum Pyo raised a brow.
"What? Bringing cores means hunting."
"Bro, think. We lack cash, but with money, buy anywhere, right?"
Geum Pyo gaped like struck on the head.
"Huh..."
"Intent same as first gate?"
Jin Sowoon nodded at Eunho.
"Protecting first-gate passes while securing cores means selecting those with force and wealth for cores, or overwhelming power to hunt spirits."
"Exactly."
"Ha..."
Right answer, but doubts lingered. Not selecting talent or effort, but money and power too?
Reading Eunho's mind, Jin Sowoon spoke.
"Murim Alliance wants sole dominance. To maintain, keep the powerful, wealthy, influential competing inside."
"Then those without... how climb high?"
Obvious answer, yet Eunho rejected the cruel reality.
"..."
The response remained merciless.
"What's the point? Survive this absurd test."