Chapter 8
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 8
Act 3. The Entrance Examination of the Great Martial Dao.
Cheongsan.
While the name evoked images of verdant greenery and rugged mountain ridges, what actually unfolded before his eyes was a single towering peak and a surprisingly massive metropolis carved right into the mountainside.
It was too expansive to be a mere town, yet lacked the imposing walls of a fortress.
But one thing was certain: an auspicious aura radiated throughout the entire mountain.
This was likely what the old texts meant by "a mountain ridge rich in spiritual energy."
Crowds that dwarfed the population of Subu Village, horse-drawn carriages, porters laden with cargo, and bewildered sightseers all intermingled, filling the air with an incessant, clamorous din.
The savory scent of cooking rice, the pungent fragrance of incense, and even a foul, fishy stench—the distinct, chaotic aroma of human life permeated every corner.
Ise walked past a towering signpost that read: Cheongsangyeong.
What made the atmosphere of this mountain city so bizarre were the shops displaying items he had never seen before in his life.
Dharma treasure shops, martial artifact dealers, and inns hung talismans in long, fluttering rows. They peddled demon ghost fangs, ritual bells, and curious artifacts harboring bizarre energies.
To Ise, who had never stepped foot outside Subu Village and the Ghost-Guarding Temple his entire life, it truly felt like another world.
Piqued by curiosity, Ise stopped in front of a nearby dharma treasure shop.
Beside the door sign, an inscription read: Gold and Spirit Stones both accepted.
Noticing Ise inspecting a talisman, the shopkeeper cleared his throat and sidled up to him.
“Welcome, welcome! That is a demonic energy sealing talisman, exceedingly popular among the disciples of the Great Martial Dao.”
“This is?” Ise asked instinctively.
Though he couldn't sense spiritual energy with perfect precision, he could at least feel the auspicious warmth radiating from genuine dharma artifacts or ghost treasures. Yet, he felt absolutely nothing from this piece of paper.
“It just looks like an ordinary talisman to me.”
“What? Are you implying I'm running a scam?”
“...That's not what I meant. How much is it?”
“Thirty thousand coins. Or a single Spirit Stone will suffice.”
It was an absurd price that would require him to empty his entire purse. Ise quietly set the item down.
It seemed that among the goods traded here, fakes far outnumbered genuine artifacts, and thieves far outnumbered honest merchants.
There's no way disciples of the Great Martial Dao would fall for this... These parasites are preying on the exam applicants.
“Are you an applicant for the Great Martial Dao entrance exam?”
“Yes.”
“Then I'd recommend this instead.”
The shopkeeper handed over another talisman. It was a crudely made paper charm inscribed with the words Great Exam Success.
“The disciple who placed top in last year's exam bought this very talisman before heading in.” The shopkeeper let out a loud ahem and puffed out his chest.
“May your business be prosperous.”
Losing interest in the swindlers lurking on every corner, Ise turned away and headed toward the center of Cheongsangyeong.
Finding the registration desk for the entrance exam was easier than expected.
The crowd heading there was already moving like a single, flowing river.
Great Martial Dao Entrance Exam Registration Desk.
It was a neatly kept yet modest government hall. After waiting in a long line for about four hours, he finally entered a room where clerks clad in Great Martial Dao robes sat behind several counters.
“Next.”
The line slowly shrank until his turn arrived.
“Name,” the clerk asked without even looking up at Ise.
“Ise.”
“Origin.”
“Subu Village.”
“Age.”
“Sixteen this year.”
“Affiliation.”
Ise hesitated briefly, wondering if he should give the name of the Ghost-Guarding Temple, before answering, “None.” It wasn't because he felt no sense of belonging, but because he wasn't sure if he was permitted to speak of it freely here.
“Copy this.”
What a dry fellow, Ise muttered inwardly as he unrolled the pine paper scroll handed to him.
[ I, _____ , shall raise no objection should I suffer injury or death during the entrance exam. I shall not leak the contents of the examination to the outside, and if I violate this, I will accept any disadvantages and punishments. ]
Ise quickly copied the text down and asked, “Are there many casualties?”
“We do not intentionally kill or injure anyone.”
When he finished writing and set the brush down, the clerk took the application.
“Here is your registration token. If you lose it, re-registration is impossible. The exam begins two days from now at the start of the Hour of the Sheep at the training ground in front of the training center at the mountain summit. Climb the mountain early and wait.”
“Understood.”
How terribly unfriendly.
Ise left with that brief thought. He supposed handling such a massive crowd inevitably made them purely businesslike.
Having finished his most crucial task, he headed toward an inn.
His interest in the city had waned; he planned to eat his fill and spend the next two days focusing on physical training.
Selecting a reasonably large and clean tavern, he pushed open the door. The rich scents of sizzling meat, rendered fat, and steaming hot broth immediately hit his nose.
“Lodging, or dining?”
“Both. I'd like a room for two days, please.”
“Ah, an exam applicant. Take a seat by the window over there.”
As soon as Ise sat at a corner table, he scanned the menu.
“Is there any dish you recommend?”
“Our steamed meat is fantastic.”
“In that case, I'll have one bowl of chicken stew, three plates of steamed meat, one bowl of thin noodles, one order of steamed dumplings, one pot of steamed eggs, a large kimchi pancake, and a generous portion of rice, please.”
The proprietor's hand paused mid-note.
“Is there anyone else joining you?”
“No, just me.”
“If you were going to order that much anyway, why ask for a recommendation?”
“So I could order extra of it.”
Silence fell over the table. Shaking his head, the proprietor muttered, “Don't leave any leftovers,” before turning back toward the kitchen.
What a strange thing to say.
If Ise had three cardinal principles in life, they were: eat well, sleep well, and train every single day without fail.
No matter the type of food or its quantity, he had no history of leaving scraps or throwing food away.
Before long, dishes arrived in endless succession: steaming chicken stew, glistening braised ribs, and soft, tender steamed eggs.
Soon, the food was being inhaled into his mouth. It was less "eating" and more "sweeping it down his throat."
The other patrons inside the tavern gasped in horror and began whispering.
“Is that a starving ghost sitting there...?”
The proprietor merely clicked his tongue.
Just then—Bang!—the tavern door burst open, and a boy stormed in, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Innkeeper! Two of every single dish on the menu!”
Standing in the doorway was a bronzed boy with a sturdy build and striking features. His clothes were made of finely tailored, high-grade fabric, and his hair gleamed brightly.
At first glance, his tan might make one mistake him for a farmer, but he was clearly no country bumpkin. He lacked refinement, yet radiated the unmistakable aura of noble wealth.
The boy quickly took the seat right next to Ise and pounded on the table.
For some reason, he smelled faintly of the ocean breeze.
“Whoa, check out your appetite! Are you taking the exam?”
Instead of answering, Ise merely nodded.
“If things go well, we might be classmates! You'd make a great meal buddy.”
“You're an applicant too, then. Let's do our best.” Ise offered a half-hearted reply and resumed inhaling his food at high speed.
“Innkeeper! Bring out the food, fast!”
“Dammit! Order one by one!”
The boy chuckled loudly at the innkeeper's grumbling.
“What's your name?”
“Ise. Innkeeper, I'll take one more of each dish over here as well.”
“What a weird name. Wait, you're eating more? Slow down a bit, will you? Who's gonna snatch it from you? Food is meant to be savored!”
I need to finish quickly and go train. Why does he keep bugging me?
This is why overly friendly guys are such a pain.
“I'm Hae Un-chan.”
At that moment, the entire tavern froze.
The clatter of chopsticks ceased, and the murmurs died down.
In the sudden quiet of the tavern, only the clinking of Ise's tableware echoed through the room.
Though he sensed the shift in the atmosphere, Ise paid it no mind and focused solely on his meal.
Seeing that Ise offered no further reaction, Hae Un-chan turned his attention to his own food as it arrived and began eating in earnest.
Meanwhile, Ise licked his lips after clearing every single plate on his table.
How many more times did he request food after that?
Before long, everyone else in the tavern had left, leaving only the two of them.
Ise politely raised his hand to place what he considered his final order.
“Innkeeper. One more bowl of meat soup and two more plates of dumplings, please.”
“Out! We're all out, you ravenous ghosts! We're completely out of ingredients!”
“Then just give me whatever you have left.”
“Do I need to show you my empty kitchen?!”
“……”
Ise couldn't fathom why the man was throwing a temper tantrum when he was single-handedly raking in huge sales for him.
Or why the innkeeper was sweating so profusely.
The kitchen maid of the Dogwi Tribe used to effortlessly whip up hundreds of times this amount all by herself...
Ise wore a crestfallen expression before peeking sideways at Hae Un-chan's table.
It was a glorious sight, overflowing with warm food.
Shifting over to the boy's side, Ise tried his hand at being shamelessly cheerful.
“Didn't you say something about being meal buddies earlier?”
“Excuse me, but who are you?”
The code of the martial world has truly hit rock bottom, Ise lamented inwardly.
* * *
The next day.
Ise ascended the peak of Cheongsan.
He had eaten well and hadn't skipped his training over the past two days. His physical condition was at its absolute peak. Whatever the Great Martial Dao's exam turned out to be, he was confident he could achieve the best possible result.
However, a new worry had arisen for him.
Food expenses are way too high.
He had simply eaten his fill as usual, but the cost was far higher than he had anticipated.
Compared to how he used to eat back with the Dogwi Tribe... he actually felt a wave of guilt for a moment.
Surely the Great Martial Dao provides meals, right?
While harboring such silly thoughts, he arrived at the entrance exam waiting hall, which was much larger than he expected.
And it was packed with so many people that even the massive hall felt cramped.
There had to be well over a thousand applicants.
Most were boys and girls around his age or slightly older. Despite their youth, some radiated an unmistakably striking presence.
“Silence! The Chief Examiner is entering.”
As one of the Great Martial Dao disciples shouted from the side, the entire room instantly fell silent.
The door to the waiting hall swung open, and a man with a neatly trimmed beard stepped inside.
In that instant, an overwhelming pressure washed over the room, as if swallowing the entire waiting hall whole.
“Greetings. I am Kang I-tae, the Chief Examiner for this year's entrance exam.”
The quiet waiting room erupted into whispers.
“...Kirin Hall Master Kang I-tae.”
“To think I'm seeing him in person.”
“So this is the aura of a Core Formation Stage Great Cultivator...”
The man standing before them was Kang I-tae, a Hall Master of the Eleventh Inner Hall—the core strength of the Great Martial Dao.
Kang I-tae didn't even bother telling the applicants to be quiet. He simply exerted pressure through the spiritual energy woven into his voice, instantly shutting everyone up.
“There are quite a lot of applicants this year. Enough to make the room feel suffocating.”
Deep furrows—whether from age or annoyance—were carved into his forehead, but his gaze was extraordinarily sharp.
“But do not worry. It will become spacious soon enough.”
It was a strange thing to say. However, Kang I-tae seemed to have no intention of elaborating, proceeding straight to his next words.
“The entrance exam will consist of seven trials held over seven days. Detailed explanations regarding that will be provided after the first trial. So, let us begin immediately. The first trial is simple.”
His following voice was profoundly calm.
“All you have to do is simply pass through the main gate of the training center.”