The Hidden Edge of the Blue Salt Stone
After the test concluded.
The examiners gathered in the Azure Dragon Hall.
It was a standard procedure of the Dragon Gate Assembly, designed to eliminate even the slightest doubt regarding the test results.
As everyone was reviewing the outcomes, Wang Jimak entered last.
Wang Jimak scanned the room, then let out a regretful sigh upon seeing the shattered Cheonyeomseok.
“Haha, what a shame. If only he had controlled his internal energy a little better, this wouldn’t have happened.”
One-third of the Cheonyeomseok had split apart from excessive internal energy.
It was a common mistake that anyone new to the Jianghu might make.
In other words, fully one-third of the late-stage juniors had failed the task.
While examining the testing area, Wang Jimak tilted his head in confusion.
All the examiners except for one were clustered together in a single spot.
Only Gudo Mosang stood alone in the corner with his arms crossed, lost in thought.
Wang Jimak didn’t want to disturb his old friend’s contemplation. He turned his gaze and walked toward the group where most of the examiners had gathered.
They were busy praising one particular junior.
Wang Jimak felt a quiet surge of anticipation.
He hoped they were talking about Jang Muhwi.
He masked his presence and listened closely to their conversation.
Just then, one of the examiners staring at a Cheonyeomseok spoke up.
“Isn’t this the character for ‘beautiful’ ?”
“Hoho, impressive. To think of carving such intricate strokes into Cheonyeomseok.”
“Does Qinghai really have a talent like this?”
“And this fellow’s scholarly knowledge is no joke either.”
“What do you mean?”
“The deeper meaning behind the he carved also carries the implication of ‘passing through’.”
“But look at the technique. Could it be…?”
He trailed off, pointing at each stroke one by one.
“Indeed. These look like the forms and mental techniques of the Mu Sword Family…”
“Oh ho, that makes sense then. I heard the eldest son of the Mu Sword Family is participating in this Dragon Gate Assembly…”
The Mu Sword Family he spoke of was one of the top five sword clans in Qinghai.
Once they knew the family, everyone nodded in understanding.
“Qinghai is overflowing with promising young sprouts.”
Their praise showed no signs of ending.
Wang Jimak nodded along with them.
The Mu Sword Family scion they were discussing was undoubtedly Mu Ilho.
Mu Ilho was the junior who had drawn the most expectations at this Dragon Gate Assembly.
It was then that someone pointed at another Cheonyeomseok.
“There are promising talents, but there are also those who rely only on their heads.”
“Still, what can we do? The character ‘one’ is still a proper character. By that standard, doesn’t it count as passing?”
“Even so, passing by using your head like that is…”
One examiner sighed and frowned at the Cheonyeomseok engraved with a single horizontal line.
Another examiner spoke up.
“But he did pass. That’s a fact.”
The others nodded in agreement.
That lasted only a moment before they turned back to praising Mu Ilho of the Mu Sword Family once more.
After listening for a while, Wang Jimak turned his head.
There stood Gudo Mosang, still deep in thought.
Only then did Wang Jimak approach his friend.
Seeing that Mosang still hadn’t noticed him and was resting his chin on his hand, Wang Jimak cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“You’re here?”
When Mosang finally turned his head, Wang Jimak asked,
“What has you so lost in thought?”
“I was pondering the technique one of today’s examinees used to carve into the Cheonyeomseok. It was quite fascinating.”
“Are you talking about Mu Ilho of the Mu Sword Family?”
“No. I’m referring to the Cheonyeomseok left behind by Jang Muhwi of the Jang Family.”
“Hmm. Where is the stone that boy left behind?”
Wang Jimak narrowed his eyes.
He had already been curious about the traces Jang Muhwi had left. Hearing that Mosang was astonished because of him only piqued his interest further.
Mosang pointed casually in a certain direction.
“It’s that one right there.”
“That’s the mark he left?”
Wang Jimak looked at the Cheonyeomseok with eyes full of disappointment.
The stone Mosang had pointed to was the very one the other examiners had clicked their tongues at and walked away from.
It was the Cheonyeomseok engraved with a single horizontal line.
Wang Jimak tilted his head in confusion.
It was clearly the mark of someone who had been desperate to pass and had simply carved a single stroke.
Seeing Wang Jimak’s expression, Mosang spoke again.
“You’re just like the other examiners.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re judging it by appearance alone. If you touch it yourself, you’ll understand what I mean.”
“…”
Wang Jimak tilted his head again.
It was because his close friend Mosang had told him to touch it.
What could that possibly mean?
At that moment, Mosang pulled a dagger from his robe.
It was thinner than a fingernail, with a blade about two spans long.
Mosang walked over to the Cheonyeomseok that Jang Muhwi had left behind.
Then he casually stabbed the dagger into the beginning of the horizontal line.
Instantly, Wang Jimak’s eyes changed.
The dagger Mosang had thrust in had sunk more than a full span deep.
Mosang swept the dagger along the groove of the carved line.
In that moment, Wang Jimak’s expression became an exact mirror of Gudo Mosang’s.
The two men looked at each other and shook their heads.
Their gazes met in the air.
Mosang spoke first.
“From the beginning of the stroke to the end, there isn’t the slightest tremor. Not only is the depth consistent, but the width is perfectly uniform as well. What’s even more absurd is that the depth is a full span. Do you understand what this means?”
Mosang pointed at Jang Muhwi’s Cheonyeomseok.
“Hmm.”
Seeing Wang Jimak stroking his chin and remaining silent, Mosang continued.
“Cheonyeomseok shatters if you dig too deeply. This technique is a level above even the that Mu Ilho carved.”
What had astonished Mosang was the precision of the internal energy control.
At first glance, it looked like a simple horizontal line.
But maintaining perfectly consistent width and depth from start to finish was impossible.
The mark that the examiners had scoffed at as nothing but a clever trick was, in reality, an impossible feat.
Wang Jimak, who had been silent, finally asked.
“To leave a mark that deep must have taken quite some time.”
Cheonyeomseok was extremely sensitive to internal energy. That was precisely why it had been chosen as a task for this Dragon Gate Assembly.
Then Mosang spoke.
“No. He left that character in the blink of an eye and walked away.”
“In the blink of an eye…”
Wang Jimak trailed off as he stared at the CheonyeomseokJang Muhwi had left behind.
It was then that Gudo Mosang spoke in a low voice.
“Keep this result a secret.”
“What do you mean?”
“He passed anyway, didn’t he? Just keep it between us.”
“Hmm. Understood.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Gudo Mosang smiled faintly.
The reason he asked to keep the meaning of Jang Muhwi’s mark a secret was simple.
He wanted to take the boy as his disciple.
With talent like this, he felt he could raise a disciple even greater than himself.
A few days later.
The theme of the third day was ‘light’. In other words, it was a test of lightness skill.
About one-third of the candidates were eliminated during the lightness skill test.
The theme of the fourth day was ‘strength’.
Martial arts were not determined by internal energy alone.
The foundation of any warrior had to be accompanied by physical strength.
Once the fourth day’s test ended, only five candidates remained.
Jang Muhwi was among those five.
Throughout the tests so far, Jang Muhwi had astonished every single examiner.
Not only Gudo Mosang, but even Manriilgak Yang Cheong-il, who had been in charge of the lightness skill test, was shocked by the results.
Manriilgak was a nickname given because he could supposedly cover ten thousand li in a single moment.
Of course, it was an exaggerated title.
How could a human possibly run ten thousand li in one moment?
Still, no one could deny that his lightness skill ranked among the top five in the Central Plains.
And even he had been astonished by Jang Muhwi’s lightness skill.
The reason Manriilgak Yang Cheong-il was surprised was simple.
For the test, he had made them walk across a sand field.
The fainter the traces, the better the lightness skill, and all footprints had to be identical.
But the result was unexpected.
Jang Muhwi—the one derided as Qinghai’s half-wit—had shown even greater talent than Mu Ilho of the Mu Sword Family, who had drawn everyone’s attention.
He hadn’t been looking for completed lightness techniques.
He had simply wanted to test whether they possessed the aptitude to learn lightness skill.
Yet Jang Muhwi’s lightness skill was already approaching perfection. And he was merely a junior at that.
Manriilgak unconsciously recalled that moment and licked his lips.
He believed he had finally discovered a pearl hidden in the mud.
Finding raw gems talented in the sword was easy, but those with aptitude for lightness skill were rare.
And yet he had found a pearl named Jang Muhwi.
That wasn’t all.
Jang Muhwi was the boy rumored throughout the world to be a complete dullard.
If he took such a boy as his disciple and raised him into a first-rate expert?
His reputation in the Jianghu would skyrocket.
In that instant, Manriilgak’s eyes met those of Cheonryeokkwon Lee Ji-seong, who stood before him.
At the same time, Manriilgak turned his head away.
He didn’t want his inner thoughts to be seen.
Strangely enough, Cheonryeokkwon Lee Ji-seong, who had been in charge of the strength test, also turned his head at the same moment.
In truth, Cheonryeokkwon Lee Ji-seong felt the same way.
He too had discovered a promising talent during this test.
As everyone was subtly watching one another, Wang Jimak smiled brightly and spoke.
“Anyway, thanks to all of you, the Qinghai Dragon Gate Assembly is safely coming to an end. I’m truly grateful.”
“Shh.”
Gudo Mosang pressed a finger to his lips.
Everyone tilted their heads and looked at him in confusion.
Under their sharp gazes, Mosang glanced around before continuing in a low voice.
“There’s a Jianghu saying that words become seeds, isn’t there? Why would you say something like that when Dokhwa might hear?”
Everyone nodded at Mosang’s words.
Strangely, Dokhwa had taken no action whatsoever even though they had reached this point with only the final gate remaining.
After issuing her threat on the first day, she had locked herself in her room and refused to come out.
No one could understand her behavior.
Given the temperament of the Sichuan Tang Family, it was only natural for them to repay a debt tenfold.
They were the type who would rip off an opponent’s arm if they lost even a single finger.
Yet Dang Jihwa hadn’t shown the slightest movement.
They had only heard through her servant that she was holed up in her room.
What on earth was going on?
Even the examiners had no way of knowing the truth behind it.
It was then that the door slid open and someone appeared.
For a moment, they all held their breath.
The Dokhwa they had just been talking about had finally shown herself after several days.
And at this exact moment when all the tests were over and only the final gate remained.
Dang Jihwa ignored the puzzled stares directed at her and sat down at the table.
Once seated, she placed a travel bundle on the table as if she had just returned from a journey and untied it.
Thud.
In the sudden situation, Gudo Mosang stepped forward.
“Dokhwa, what exactly is going on?”
“You all must have worked hard.”
“Thanks to you, the tests have all concluded safely.”
“The tests are over?”
“Only the formal final gate remains. So yes, it’s over, isn’t it?”
Mosang narrowed his eyes as he looked at Dang Jihwa.
What he said was true.
The final gate was simply about passing the examiners.
It carried a strong meaning of seniors teaching juniors a single move.
The senior leaves behind one technique, and the junior gains a lesson from it.
That was the final gate.
Of course, that lesson could sometimes be rather painful.
But there had never been a junior who failed the final gate.
It was nothing more than a formality.
Then Dang Jihwa smiled.
“Doesn’t it depend on who stands at the final gate?”
“What do you mean?”
“Since all of you have taken one gate each, the remaining one naturally falls to me.”
“W-wait a moment, Dokhwa!”
“According to Article 22, Paragraph 2 of the Murim Alliance regulations, the examiners for the Dragon Gate Assembly must be distributed fairly. Therefore, it is only right that I take charge of it.”
“You haven’t shown your face once until now. Why are you doing this today?”
“I’ve been busy until now.”
“What could possibly keep a Dragon Gate Assembly examiner so busy?”
“This.”
Dang Jihwa spread open the travel bundle she had placed on the table.
In that instant, everyone’s eyes widened.
Inside the unfolded bundle were dozens of small bottles and hidden weapons embedded within.