The Trial of the Three Footprints
* * *
Winter's chill arrived after the new year. With the autumn flowers all withered away, the children gathered in the center of the training ground, their bodies warmed from a light jog.
Today was the day of the selection test for those heading to the Kyunghang Yunryeon.
The kids who'd figured it out beamed with pride, while those who hadn't wore sullen expressions.
"Everyone finished their warm-ups?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
The children chorused back.
"Then are you ready for the test?"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Who wants to go first?"
"Um, if we fail... is that it?"
Danmok Wan asked hesitantly.
Danmok Hyeon-u shook his head with a smile.
"If you want another shot, you can have it."
At that moment, one boy in the middle timidly raised his hand.
"What if... I go first, and then someone copies me later...?"
"You're all one family—would you hold back sharing something good?"
The boy who'd asked—Danmok Ban—pressed his lips together. He knew Danmok Hyeon-u was right, but it still felt unfair.
"Still, this is a test, so you'll each show your own ideas with all you've got. Right?"
"Yes!"
Only then did Danmok Ban relax his face, grinning proudly once more as he shot his hand up with the others.
"We'll go—five of us together!"
"What?"
Danmok Hyeon-u blinked in surprise but remembered he hadn't forbidden it and nodded.
Danmok Ban, Danmok Pung, Danmok Gwon, Gong So-ok, and Danmok Hae stepped forward at once.
Danmok Pung went first, dashing two steps and planting his knee to offer his back.
Next, Danmok Gwon kicked off one step, leaped onto Danmok Pung's back, vaulted over, and knelt the same way.
"Ooh!"
As everyone marveled at the unexpected approach, the five repeated the process—stepping or pushing off each other's backs—somehow covering the full distance.
They left way more than three footprints, of course, but the kids didn't mind. No one could do it in just three anyway, so giving their all should get them to the Yunryeon, they figured.
"How'd you come up with that?"
"You said we're all family, so we thought of cooperating to move forward! Isn't what fits in one hand... a family member's hand?"
"Haha... Not the exact answer, but not wrong either. Good work. Who's next?"
Next up were Danmok Gyu and Yeo Seon-hwon.
Yeo Seon-hwon brought a long pole, drawing all eyes.
But despite the flair, he didn't vault very high, and he floundered on landing, barely making half the distance.
He tried five more times, but it ended when the pole snapped.
Danmok Gyu tried cartwheeling across—figuring handprints didn't count as footprints—but flipped over halfway and tumbled, bursting into laughter.
Then Danmok Wan stepped up.
She took a deep breath and scattered what she held in her hand ahead.
"Pebbles?"
Stones the size of an adult's finger scattered across the ground.
Danmok Wan memorized their positions, then lightly leaped, stepping only on the pebbles in a fluid footwork pattern.
Pop, pop, pop!
The pebbles sank deep, but no footprints remained. Still, pebbles had their limits—you could only carry so many—so she ended up with exactly three at the finish.
"Wan, outstanding!"
Everyone had to admit it.
Danmok Wan flushed, bashfully stepping back.
Next came Seo Geuk-rim and Mae Sin-yu.
Mae Sin-yu arrived clutching a water pouch.
As he moved in footwork steps, he erased his prints with water from the pouch, crossing the finish line clean.
"I never thought of that—brilliant!"
As sighs rippled through, Seo Geuk-rim took the final turn.
The ground was a bit damp now, so he redrew the line, took a deep breath, and drew his wooden sword.
"Huh?"
Everyone puzzled, but Danmok Hyeon-u and Ryeon exchanged knowing smiles.
"Here I go."
Seo Geuk-rim inhaled sharply and took a step.
His wooden sword moved with him. The tip unleashed Falling Star Twelve Swords, whipping up sword winds that erased his footprints.
Step by step, the Falling Star Twelve Swords wove in seamlessly.
But his winds were still weak, footwork and swordplay not fully synced, leaving about three prints midway.
The kids, finally grasping the test's true intent, let out sighs.
Danmok Hyeon-u patted Seo Geuk-rim's shoulder with a pleased smile.
"Good effort."
"I fell short..."
Seo Geuk-rim bowed his head.
Danmok Hyeon-u shook his head, chuckling.
"Everything we learn guides us into the principles of martial arts. This test did too. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Danmok Hyeon-u scanned the kids, drew his sword, and advanced like Seo Geuk-rim—blending Falling Star Twelve Swords with footwork.
It looked like a sword dance.
Sword trails stirred winds that swept the ground clean.
When Danmok Hyeon-u reached the end, even the original chalk line was gone—bare earth, pristine.
"Whoa...!"
The kids' eyes sparkled in awe. Danmok Hyeon-u smiled faintly.
"Even without a drop of neigong, proper form infuses the sword path with power. I did it without any either. You all can too."
"But we're small, and our arms are weak..."
Danmok Gyu mumbled glumly.
Danmok Hyeon-u shook his head and beckoned Ryeon.
"Size and strength don't matter. Master it precisely, express it from your body, and momentum fills it."
He stepped aside, signaling Ryeon to demonstrate.
All eyes turned to her.
An adult like Danmok Hyeon-u pulling it off was impressive but expected; a peer like Danmok Ryeon was another level.
Ahem.
Ryeon gripped her wooden sword with graceful poise.
Like Danmok Hyeon-u, she advanced, footwork and swordplay in perfect harmony.
Her Infinite Steps and Falling Star Twelve Swords meshed as if one art from the start.
Each step laid the path; the sword sliced invisible foes, clearing the way.
When Ryeon stopped, like Danmok Hyeon-u, even the marker line was erased.
"Wooow!"
"It really works..."
"No way."
"Whoa..."
Danmok Gyu gaped wide-eyed, awe-struck, as the kids exclaimed.
Ryeon sheathed her sword and wiped sweat from her brow.
Current Haengun: 44 / 120(+4 ▲)
Haengun rises with a cheerful chime.
Ryeon gazed at the children with eyes full of affection.
Aigoo, these smart, pretty, kind little things!
"That was the 'right' answer for this test, but your creative methods were brilliant too. No path is wrong if it channels your thoughts and will toward mastering martial arts—that's the true way."
"Yes!"
"But a promise is a promise! For this Yunryeon, it's Danmok Wan, Mae Sin-yu, and Seo Geuk-rim."
The kids nodded, congratulating the trio. They felt the gap themselves, so they accepted it, though a twinge of regret lingered.
With the test done, Danmok Hyeon-u stepped back to give free time. The children shuffled over to Ryeon shyly.
"That was amazing earlier... How'd you do it?"
"Can we really do it too?"
"I still don't get the breathing method well..."
Danmok Gyu was the last, mumbling.
Ryeon bit back I can't build neigong at all! and replied.
"Infinite Steps is an incredible footwork. It supports every art in our clan, anytime, anywhere."
The ancients were geniuses.
Infinite Steps was like a universal beam. Any clan art fit seamlessly, as if designed together. Only possible with full grasp from basics, of course.