The Blue Salt Stone
In the now-empty office, Wang Jimak threw open the windows.
“There are quite a few stars tonight.”
Wang Jimak clicked his tongue.
Though the sky was filled with countless stars, the ones visible over the Qinghai region could be counted on one hand.
His brief moment of regret passed quickly. Wang Jimak quietly examined the box labeled “Tong.”
He had noticed the strange expression on Dang Jihwa’s face as she placed the final document inside.
When Wang Jimak read the name written on the paper, his eyes widened.
The name of the late-stage examinee was one he knew well.
Jang Muhwi.
The name that kept popping up was beginning to pique his curiosity.
“Interesting. Very interesting indeed.”
The core of today’s test had been the character of the late-stage talents. Of course, it was impossible to see into their true hearts. In the end, any test could only judge the surface.
This examination was about how well they could wear their masks.
Hiding one’s true self was both a skill and a fundamental principle of the orthodox sects.
His curiosity lasted only a moment before Wang Jimak checked the next test.
On the following page, a single character was written.
Merit
It was a test of basic internal energy.
However, thanks to Dang Jihwa’s request, the difficulty had been raised dramatically. It was a trial that no half-hearted internal energy could possibly pass.
As Wang Jimak considered the test, a mysterious smile formed on his lips.
It was because of the extraordinary way Jang Muhwi had manipulated his internal energy.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve looked forward to something.”
For the first time in ages, genuine anticipation gleamed in Wang Jimak’s eyes.
He held that much expectation for Jang Muhwi.
After all, heroes often appeared from the most unexpected places!
The next morning.
In front of the Blue Dragon Hall at the Murim Alliance Qinghai Branch.
The Blue Dragon Hall was the venue where the Dragon Gate Assembly would truly begin.
It was called the Blue Dragon Hall because of the long row of pavilions. From a distance, the complex of buildings resembled a blue dragon ascending to heaven with a wish-fulfilling jewel in its mouth.
Jang Muhwi walked while admiring the sight of the Blue Dragon Hall. Of course, it wasn’t the hall itself that caught his attention.
He carefully observed the number of late-stage talents gathered for the test and the expressions on their faces.
By the numbers alone, it seemed not all of them had arrived yet.
They had gathered in one place, exchanging information.
Jang Muhwi quietly slipped into the crowd surrounding him.
He blended in so naturally that it looked as if he had been part of the group from the beginning.
It made sense—most of the late-stage talents didn’t know each other’s faces. The Qinghai region was simply that vast.
One of the late-stage talents asked another in a low voice.
“It looks emptier than yesterday. Do you know why?”
“I heard a third of them were eliminated yesterday.”
When he answered so casually, the other late-stage talents began to murmur among themselves.
Then another one asked, “Before the test even started?”
“I heard it was all because of the examiner from the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“An examiner came from the Sichuan Tang Family? It couldn’t be Dokhwa, could it? As long as it’s not Dokhwa, there shouldn’t be a big problem!”
When one of them asked with uneasy eyes, someone shook their head vigorously.
“There’s no way. That would be a disaster.”
“Is it really a disaster just because of one examiner? That’s a bit much.”
“Don’t you know the ghost stories of the Dragon Gate Assembly? They say that whenever an examiner comes from the Sichuan Tang Family, the number of passers is cut in half. And if it’s Dokhwa who comes, it gets cut in half again.”
“Isn’t that just a rumor?”
“And I heard there’s another problem with this Dragon Gate Assembly.”
“What do you mean?”
“They say this Dragon Gate Assembly has become a place where just about anyone can participate.”
“…”
Everyone looked at the man and tilted their heads in confusion.
Suddenly, the man opened his mouth with a sly smile.
“I heard that the half-wit from the Jang family is participating in the Dragon Gate Assembly. Haven’t you all heard that rumor?”
The man looked around, tilting his head again.
Seeing their reactions, he continued.
“Judging by your expressions, none of you knew.”
“How could someone like him receive an invitation to the Dragon Gate Assembly? I don’t understand.”
“He must have bribed someone. The good news is that he went back home yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“Then what are we waiting for? Once water has been muddied, it doesn’t clear up again.”
The man narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings.
At that moment, someone stepped forward, waving their hand.
All eyes suddenly focused on the man who had abruptly stepped out.
He made a show of stroking a nonexistent beard as he looked at everyone before speaking.
“Your information is too slow.”
“What do you mean by slow?”
One of the late-stage talents looked at him with displeasure.
The man with narrowed eyes spoke quietly.
“As far as I know, the second son of the Jang family actually won a sparring match.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you heard about the spar with the Pure Sword?”
“Hah, are you telling me to believe such ridiculous nonsense? Besides, that was just the Young Master Wi being generous and preserving his opponent’s dignity. Everyone in Qinghai knows about that spar.”
The late-stage talent looked around.
The people whose eyes met his all nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, the man replied with an awkward expression.
“It seems I was mistaken. My apologies.”
The man immediately backed down and slipped away.
Jang Muhwi, who had been listening to the conversation, quietly curled the corners of his lips upward.
Not long ago, he had crossed blades with the Pure Sword. He had even mixed real sword strikes with him.
The reason he had let Wi Gunak go was simple.
Only if the Pure Sword remained alive could Jang Muhwi steal the giyan that was supposed to come to him.
Yet the rumor had spread in the complete opposite direction.
Jang Muhwi roughly understood why.
It was the difference in the information organizations backing them.
No matter the truth, the Wi Clan had the power to distort information.
In the end, only Jang Muhwi and Wi Gunak knew the real story.
The gangho only remembered the results!
In the end, Wi Gunak’s title of Pure Sword remained completely unchanged.
His bitter smile lasted only a moment.
‘Come to think of it, this might actually benefit me!’
Just as Jang Muhwi unconsciously clicked his tongue, the doors of the Blue Dragon Hall finally opened.
Creak.
With the heavy sound of the doors opening, the late-stage talents rushed inside.
Only Jang Muhwi remained behind.
The late-stage talents who had entered the Blue Dragon Hall suddenly stopped in their tracks.
It was because wooden plaques with their names written on them had been placed on the training ground.
In front of each plaque stood a pillar covered with red cloth.
It was obvious that the challenge for this test was hidden beneath the red fabric.
Everyone naturally moved to stand in front of their own name.
It was then.
From behind, Gudo Mosang slowly walked forward, radiating a powerful aura.
He didn’t even make eye contact with the late-stage talents as he strode to the front.
After silently scanning the group, Mosang clapped his hands without a word.
Clap!
At the sound, warriors from the Justice Alliance pulled away the red cloths covering the pillars in front of the late-stage talents.
Instantly, every single one of them tilted their heads in confusion.
Before them stood pillars emitting a brilliant blue light.
Thanks to the red cloth that had covered them, the blue pillars looked even more intense.
It was clear that no more beautiful shade of blue existed anywhere in the world.
That was what everyone thought.
While the late-stage talents stood there with puzzled expressions, Gudo Mosang spoke.
“From now on, you will carve characters into these blue pillars. Any character is fine, but if you lack internal energy, you probably won’t even be able to scratch them. And…”
Gudo Mosang explained the details of this test.
Everyone narrowed their eyes as they stared at the blue pillars.
The strange part was the test conditions.
The first was to carve a character without breaking the pillar. The second was the allotted time of half a day.
Most of them thought there must be some trap in this problem.
Moreover, the final words Gudo Mosang left as he turned away made it difficult for the late-stage talents to even draw their swords.
‘He gave us an excessively difficult problem from the start.’
Those were his last words.
His voice had carried genuine sincerity.
Everyone had heard it, but none understood the reason.
After leaving those words, Gudo Mosang went to the back, sat down, and crossed his arms.
Was it because of his final remark?
The late-stage talents simply stared blankly at the blue pillars.
After a while, someone spoke up.
“What could the trap in this problem be? Does anyone know? If it’s just about carving a character, isn’t it too easy?”
“Exactly. Among all the late-stage talents participating in the Dragon Gate Assembly, is there anyone who couldn’t carve a character into that pillar? And telling us not to break it! He must think we’re beginners who can’t even control our internal energy.”
“Didn’t you all hear Gudo express his concern for us?”
“That might be the trap. He’s trying to make us waste time and eliminate us.”
Their opinions were split evenly.
The one thing they all had in common was that no one stepped forward.
It was then.
One of the late-stage talents drew his sword.
Sring.
At that sight, everyone narrowed their eyes and stared at him.
It was none other than Jang Muhwi.
Jang Muhwi understood the hidden meaning of this test better than anyone.
The blue pillar before him was an object called Cheonyeomseok.
In simple terms, Cheonyeomseok was a rock formed from solidified salt.
Although Qinghai was made up of lakes, its origin was seawater. Naturally, it contained salt.
That salt had settled at the bottom for hundreds of years, eventually forming Cheonyeomseok.
Some might say that carving a name on salt couldn’t be that difficult, but such words came from ignorance of the stone’s properties.
Cheonyeomseok was more sensitive to internal energy than any other material. Even the slightest excess would not leave a scratch—it would shatter the pillar entirely.
The core of this test was the concept of the Golden Mean.
It resonated with the ancient sage’s teaching: fill it completely, but do not let it overflow.
Jang Muhwi quietly gazed at the Cheonyeomseok.
Though his internal energy was merely the size of a millet grain, his skill in handling it was no less than in his previous life.
In a way, it was fortunate that the test evaluated control rather than the amount of internal energy.
After staring for a moment, Jang Muhwi extended his sword.
In the blink of an eye, his blade swept across the pillar.
Swoosh!
Jang Muhwi sheathed his sword as if nothing had happened.
The late-stage talents who had been watching him step back as though the test was already over tilted their heads in confusion.
The character Jang Muhwi had carved was the number
Seeing the signal that the test had been completed, Gudo Mosang slowly approached Jang Muhwi’s side.
“Have you finished the test?”
“Yes, I have.”
“You carved the character ‘one’ quite neatly. You used your head. Since any character was acceptable, there’s no problem.”
Gudo Mosang looked at the character Jang Muhwi had carved and let out a chuckle as he examined it once more.
Suddenly, his laughter vanished.
“Just what…”
Gudo Mosang couldn’t continue speaking.
He had thought Jang Muhwi had made the safest possible choice.
But that was Mosang’s mistake.
On the surface it looked like an ordinary , but upon closer inspection, the situation was completely different.
What shocked him was the depth of the carving.