Chapter 9
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9
Confusion washed over the applicants' faces as they stood before the main gate.
Taken at face value, the task seemed far too simple to even be called an exam.
All they had to do was walk through the main gate.
It offered no clear way to filter out candidates, making it seem utterly trivial compared to the grueling rumors.
However, the atmosphere completely shifted the moment they spotted the demon ghost crouching right in the middle of the gateway.
A demon ghost.
Its skin was ash-gray. Its arms were disproportionately long, and its neck stretched out at an unnatural angle. Its eyes were closed, yet the corners of its mouth curled up into a faint, mocking sneer.
There were no sacred ropes around it. No barriers. No iron chains.
This was no restrained beast—it was simply sitting there, completely free. They had to walk past an unbound demon ghost occupying the narrow gateway.
If the creature decided to attack for even a fraction of a second... they would lose their lives on the spot.
The applicants finally realized the true purpose of the test.
Courage—the 'Yong' in Mun-Mu-Yong-Do (Literature, Martial Arts, Courage, and the Dao).
They needed the courage to overcome the suffocating pressure of a demon ghost that could slaughter them at any moment and simply keep walking forward.
'Isn't this way too easy, though?'
No matter how unfamiliar and terrifying a demon ghost might be, as long as one was certain it wouldn't attack, what was so hard about just walking past it? Ise tilted his head in doubt.
The first applicant seemed to share his thoughts. "What? That's it? Nothing to it," he muttered, his voice a mix of nerves and bravado, before stepping forward.
However, three steps were as far as he made it.
His legs began trembling violently before he collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
"Failed."
Chief Examiner Kang I-tae's resolute voice rang out, and the other examiners promptly dragged the fallen applicant away.
After him came two, three, four more. Countless applicants stepped up, but most collapsed before making it past three to five steps.
The Chief Examiner did not wait around; the moment an applicant fell to their knees or froze in hesitation, he instantly barked out their failure.
"Hae Un-chan."
A familiar name was called. Murmurs reached Ise's ears.
"So that's the eldest son and heir of the Hae clan."
"The top candidate for this cohort...?"
The Hae clan? Calling it a clan meant he was probably from a noble family. Completely ignorant of the continent's prominent houses, Ise simply watched the boy without much thought.
Hae Un-chan strode forward boldly, but flinched on his third step.
Clenching his fists tightly, he forced himself to keep walking.
Cold sweat drenched his body with every step, and blood dripped from his tightly clenched fists.
Finally, the first applicant crossed the main gate, accompanied by Kang I-tae's succinct declaration: "Passed."
A low murmur of admiration rippled through the crowd.
After that, a sparse handful of successful candidates emerged from the sea of failures.
"Next, Ise."
Hearing his name, Ise took a quiet, steadying breath. As he walked toward the main gate, he centered his senses.
'...Strange.'
Ise narrowed his eyes as he studied the demon ghost.
He couldn't identify what kind of creature it was.
Having memorized hundreds of demon ghost species recorded in the Scripture Hall of Ghost-Guarding Temple, a demon ghost he had never seen before stood out glaringly.
'A demon ghost not recorded in the Scripture Hall...'
Though the Scripture Hall of Ghost-Guarding Temple lacked other information, its trove of knowledge on demon ghosts was endless—thanks to Mongryeon, who had performed ghost exorcisms for three hundred years.
Yet even so, he didn't recognize it.
Judging by the intensity of its demonic energy, it seemed slightly stronger than the Aseongyongma, sitting somewhere around the late Qi Refining stage.
Clearing his thoughts, he took his third step. The air shifted instantly.
A viscous, murderous intent—as if ready to slit his throat and gouge out his entrails in a heartbeat—surged over him, slicing into his skin.
You will die.
Take one more step, and you will surely die.
It felt as though someone were screeching the words directly into his ear.
'How could this possibly be the demonic energy of a Qi Refining stage creature?'
The disparity between the demonic energy it harbored and the lethal intent it projected was far too extreme.
The suffocating pressure felt as if an entity from a vastly higher realm were crushing down on him.
His body reacted instinctively. Unconsciously, his hand reached for his waist, gripping the familiar hilt of his small axe.
"Hey."
An examiner's voice snapped him back to reality.
"Attacking the demon ghost is an immediate disqualification."
"..."
Unable to bring himself to let go of the axe, Ise took another step forward.
Step four. The suffocating pressure tightened around his chest.
Step five. A piercing chill raced down from the back of his head to his waist, and the muscles in his shoulders began to freeze up with numbness.
At that moment, the demonic energy buried deep inside his body flinched and surged violently.
'...So it wasn't an illusion after all.'
The day he had exorcised the Aseongyongma. The lingering demonic energy that had squirmed like a throbbing pain inside his body—that unsettling sensation flared back to vivid life.
'Don't go wild.'
Muttering to himself, Ise dragged his palm across the blade of his small axe, slicing the skin open. Crimson blood trickled out. Clenching his bleeding palm, he walked forward.
'Compared to standing before a demon ghost truly intent on slaughtering me, this fake murderous intent is child's play.'
He then moved in a rapid, brisk stride—a pace no applicant before him had managed to display.
At last, Ise crossed through the main gate and came to a stop.
"Passed."
A single terse word. It was Chief Examiner Kang I-tae.
Instantly, the blade-like murderous intent rending his body vanished. Beyond the gate, he spotted a boy waving at him.
"I knew you'd make it!" Hae Un-chan approached him, looking as thrilled as if he had just passed the test himself. "What was with that sudden burst of speed at the end? Wow, I barely managed to drag myself forward step by step."
"No reason. Just... something I've dealt with before."
"...?"
Hae Un-chan tilted his head in confusion, but Ise merely shrugged. Saying that he had hunted a low-grade demon ghost at age ten and decapitated a mid-grade demon ghost just a few days ago would only be dismissed as empty boasting anyway.
* * *
With well over a thousand applicants, the exam dragged on until sunset.
By the time the sun dipped low on the horizon, the first exam finally came to an end. Fewer than two hundred examinees remained.
Compared to the massive crowd gathered at the start, nearly ninety percent had been eliminated.
Kang I-tae stepped in front of the irregularly lined-up applicants, scanning their faces.
"One hundred sixty-nine. Quite a few passed, given how many applied. Welcome, those of you who passed the first exam."
As he spoke, a bird circling above flew down to perch on Kang I-tae's shoulder, and the demon ghost guarding the gate morphed its shape before moving to stand at his side.
Ise instantly identified both creatures.
One was a massive bird with white feathers: the Haljo. The other was the Haechi, a horned beast resembling part lion, part cloud.
The two Divine Beasts were symbols of the Great Martial Dao, the very creatures that had brought the sect to where it was today.
The demon ghost in the first exam had been the Haechi in disguise all along.
While the applicants gawked open-mouthed at the imposing auras radiating from the Divine Beasts, Kang I-tae continued his explanation.
"The exams will take place over seven days, one per day. As you know, the criteria for disciple selection are Literature, Martial Arts, Courage, and the Dao—Knowledge, Martial Prowess, Courage, and Dao Principle."
Since these standards were famous, the applicants all nodded in understanding.
"Your courage—that you will not back down before a demon ghost—has been confirmed in the first exam. Now, prove the rest through the remaining six exams."
Kang I-tae swept his gaze over the applicants before speaking in a deliberately solemn voice. "I will now give you a few warnings."
Pacing slowly back and forth, he lightly tapped the rod in his hand against his palm.
"If any of you came to the Great Martial Dao seeking eternal youth and longevity because you cherish your precious lives, turn back now. Get the hell out and go join a junkies' den, or go recite Daoist scriptures with those cowardly, horse-faced bastards."
Ise blinked, not quite understanding Kang I-tae's words. Hae Un-chan nudged his side and whispered softly.
"He's mocking the major cultivation sects of the Jeong Kingdom."
"Cultivation sects? There are others besides the Great Martial Dao?"
"Yeah. In the Jeong Kingdom, there are massive cultivation sects called the Jedan Sect and Kunlun. The Jedan Sect hunts spirit beasts and collects spirit creatures to refine and consume medicinal pills, forcing their cultivation realm higher. That's why he calls them junkies."
"What about Kunlun?"
"Those guys practice swordsmanship yet shut themselves away in the mountains, trying to become immortals through nothing but meditation and enlightenment. That's why people call them horse-faced Daoists."
"Sounds like they don't get along."
"You're telling me! If you ever cross over into the Jeong Kingdom, watch your back. They call us 'demon ghost butchers.' Hah! To them, becoming a cultivator is all about extending your life and reaching immortality, so they think we don't value our own lives."
"Enough with the chitchat."
Even though they had whispered softly, Kang I-tae caught it instantly, his eyes flashing with a sharp glare.
Hae Un-chan and Ise quickly chimed, "Apologies," and straightened their posture.
"We do not hoard our lives. To take ghost exorcism as one's vocation is in itself the Dao Principle, the heavenly mandate of a cultivator. Do not hunt spirit beasts recklessly. Do not desecrate spirit creatures recklessly. All who walk a path different from ours are our enemies."
Does that mean the Great Martial Dao never consumes medicinal pills at all? Should I vomit up the pill I already ate...?
Remembering reading that pills were necessary at certain cultivation realms, Ise felt a pang of curiosity.
"Answer me!"
"Yes, sir!"
The response thundered through the courtyard. Soon after, the examiners began distributing robes and books.
"Those books cover the fundamentals every disciple of the Great Martial Dao must master. There will be a written exam on the final day, so study whenever you have time."
At the mention of a written exam, a few applicants grimaced, but most realized it was intended to test their 'Knowledge.'
On the cover of the fairly thick manual, the title was inscribed: <Basic Manual of the Great Martial Dao>.
"Lastly, brawling or harming another applicant outside of the test will result in immediate disqualification. If you harbor a grudge so deep you want to kill someone, request a spar through me. I will disqualify whoever loses. That is all. Questions?"
When no one spoke up, Ise raised his hand. He still hadn't heard the most important detail yet.
"When are mealtimes? Is it self-serve?"
In an instant, the eyes of every examinee around him locked onto Ise.
"...Does that matter?"
"Yes."
Ise's expression seemed to ask why he was even being questioned on something so obvious.
Kang I-tae's brow twitched. This cohort seemed to have an unusual number of oddballs.
"A bell will ring for mealtimes. As for the serving style, I don't know."
How could he not know? Do cultivators not eat food?
Ise had a million questions, but he decided to stick to what mattered most.
"Will there be enough for proper growth?"
"...Do we look like a sect so poor we'd skimp on food? Next."
With Ise breaking the ice, the other applicants began asking their questions one after another.
After giving brief answers, Kang I-tae heard the bell signaling mealtime and raised his hand to cut off further questions.
"That is all for today. Since it seems we have someone who takes eating dead seriously, go eat first. Once you finish, wait in the holding area, and temporary quarters will be assigned."
* * *
After finishing their meal and returning to the holding area, Ise quickly flipped through the manual before turning to Hae Un-chan, who had been sticking to him like a leech.
"Hae Un-chan."
"Yeah?"
"Could you tell me more about those cultivation sects on the continent you mentioned earlier?"
"Sure, that's easy. What do you want to know?"
"Just in general. You mentioned there are two other major cultivation sects in the Jeong Kingdom. Are there no other cultivation sects in the Three Peninsular Kingdoms?"
Hae Un-chan was caught off guard for a moment; it was such a basic question for anyone dreaming of immortal cultivation.
Remembering that some applicants lived secluded in the mountains before coming to take the exam, he rationalized it and continued.
"There are some. But most are secular sects affiliated with the Great Martial Dao, or places so tiny it's embarrassing to even call them cultivation sects."
"There are three kingdoms on the peninsula. Why is that?"
"The Three Peninsular Kingdoms are the Great Martial Dao's territory. Think about it. Cultivators cherish their own lives more than anyone else. Living long and staying young by any means necessary is their ultimate goal in life. Most cultivators place immense value on medicinal pills and fated opportunities. Do you think they'd want to covet a place crawling with murderous, bloodthirsty 'demon ghost butchers' who don't give a damn about their own lives?"
"..."
"Well, there are still idiots who cross over. Exactly two kinds: the fools destined to die young, and those who are overly confident in their own strength."