Chapter 68: Next!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68: Next!
“Me! Absolutely me—!”
“I wish to be the first.”
Ki Mu-hyeok and Shin Kang-heon, who had raised their hands simultaneously, glared fiercely at each other, then, without needing to say who was first, began advancing toward the dueling stage.
“I’m going first!”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m first.”
They were two people who knew each other’s thoughts all too well.
To keep the other from getting ahead, they deployed Joint-Locking Techniques, tugging at each other’s clothes and trying to trip one another as they surged forward.
Wasn’t this a chance to spar with the Martial Alliance Leader at his absolute best?
It was only natural that they wanted to fight the Leader when he was in peak condition, not even slightly tired.
“You guys, seriously… I can’t lose either. I’ll be the first to challenge!”
“Honestly, these guys always have such unique ideas. Oh Jung-min of the Pine Moon Sect requests guidance from the Leader!”
Seeing this, Song Jun-ho, spurred on, also raised his hand and headed for the dueling stage, while Oh Jung-min shook his head, then began walking towards the stage with a serious expression.
“Because I promised to keep it after I got stronger…”
Yang Ha-yun watched Ki Mu-hyeok’s retreating back, then, as if realizing something, bit her lip and stepped forward.
“…Damn it. Now I feel pressured, I can’t not step up.”
Pi Seung-hwa of the Golden Glory Sect also sighed, then, sensing the mood, raised his hand and stepped forward.
“What’s with these kids? Why are they like this this year?”
“These fresh-faced youngsters…”
With five Rising Stars from among those taking their first exam stepping forward, even martial artists taking the Peak Master License Exam, including Bu Yeon-ha, couldn’t help but step up due to their pride.
A moment later, more than ten martial artists who had volunteered to spar with the Leader first were on the dueling stage.
“…Hahahaha! The vigor of these young martial artists makes me feel young again!”
Yeo Pil-geuk seemed momentarily flustered by the unexpected situation, but soon burst into delighted laughter.
“However… I apologize, but I only said that to liven things up.”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean?”
Yeo Pil-geuk scratched his head, as if he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way, and said.
“Actually, there’s an order already set based on the results of the previous exam. So, everyone, please return to your seats and wait for your name to be called.”
“Such a…”
“I was really looking forward to it…”
Ki Mu-hyeok and Shin Kang-heon, whose clothes were half-torn from their struggle, descended from the dueling stage, utterly disappointed, and the other Rising Stars also wore regretful expressions.
Among them, a few secretly breathed a sigh of relief as they returned.
“Haha, these days, I’m almost afraid to say anything to these youngsters.”
Yeo Pil-geuk had actually expected the exact opposite situation.
A situation where no one would readily step forward, only looking around nervously.
But unexpectedly, the Rising Stars swarmed onto the dueling stage, causing him to lose a bit of face.
‘Well, now… I suppose I’ll have to show the Leader’s prestige through skill.’
Though he had been flustered by the audacity of the Rising Stars who had stepped forward as if they’d been waiting, Yeo Pil-geuk was rather pleased by their spirit and smiled contentedly.
“May this old man ask the Leader a question?”
Just then, a very slow, elderly voice subtly interjected.
The seat of honor among the distinguished guests from all walks of life.
Na Il-cheon, the Changcheon Sword Elder, was rising to his feet with an exasperating slowness.
“Of course, Senior. Please speak freely.”
Martial Alliance Leader Yeo Pil-geuk respectfully offered a Fist Salute to the other.
Changcheon Sword Elder Na Il-cheon was an elder of the Martial, so senior that even the Leader called him ‘Senior,’ and a figure so respected that he was called ‘Old Master’ among the Sect Leaders of the Eight Great Sects.
Even though he rarely appeared at official events, his influence was greater than anyone else’s present.
“Please understand if I speak in a trite manner due to my old age… The Leader said he would replace the exam with sparring… but I question whether it is right to grant qualifications based solely on the level of martial arts.”
His voice was exasperatingly slow and weak, yet everyone was now focused on his words.
“Traditionally, I understood that the Korean Martial Alliance administered exams and granted qualifications by also reflecting the participants’ character and cultivation… Was I perhaps mistaken?”
The Sect Leaders of the Eight Great Sects beside him nodded with serious expressions, adding their own comments.
“I also share the Old Master’s sentiment.”
“For an Orthodox Faction Member, cultivating character and refinement is just as important as martial arts.”
“If success is determined solely by the strength of one’s martial arts, then how are we different from the Unorthodox Faction…?”
There was no reason for them to remain silent when Na Il-cheon stepped forward to confront the Leader.
Although the original intent of reflecting character and cultivation had long become a dead letter, and everyone knew this was merely a question to pick a fight.
This very act of raising an issue demonstrated the authority and power of the Eight Great Sects.
‘Leader. Do you have a suitable rebuttal?’
‘It’s a righteous argument that only an old Martial Arts Practitioner like the Changcheon Sword Elder would make… but sometimes, nothing is trickier than this.’
‘I wish he’d get angry. Saying, ‘What right do you have to speak of the Orthodox Faction?’ or something.’
However, contrary to the Sect Leaders’ expectations, the Leader readily conceded.
“That is a valid point. I, too, am well aware of your concerns, Sect Leaders. Are we not Orthodox. Faction. Practitioners?”
Yeo Pil-geuk, who had particularly emphasized the word ‘Orthodox Faction,’ looked around at the hundred-plus martial artists participating in the exam and smiled gently.
“However, all the juniors present here have proven their character and cultivation in the previous exam.”
“…Already proven?”
When Na Il-cheon tilted his head and asked, Yeo Pil-geuk nodded with a confident expression.
“They bravely confronted the Assassins who invaded the Korean Martial Alliance, and without turning a blind eye to injustice, risked their lives to protect their comrades. I am a direct witness to their actions. Don’t the three Sect Leaders present there also know this?”
At the Martial Alliance Leader’s words, the exam participants’ faces filled with pride.
At the same time, the Sect Leaders who had questioned the appropriateness of the exam looked flustered when asked.
“Ahem…”
“We, of course, know that, but…”
Except for the Changcheon Sword Elder, who slowly blinked his eyes as if hearing it for the first time.
“This old man’s hearing is poor, so I wasn’t aware of such detailed circumstances. Or perhaps, I might have heard a faint rumor…”
“Therefore, I judged that the only necessary test for the martial artists present here is to purely demonstrate their martial arts. Has this been a sufficient explanation for the Sect Leaders?”
While the other Sect Leaders concealed their displeasure and remained silent, the Changcheon Sword Elder smiled brightly and nodded.
“Indeed! I am fully convinced.”
“…Sect Leader?”
“Old Master…”
In the end, it was a conversation that yielded nothing but losses.
Far from demonstrating the prestige of the Eight Great Sects and keeping the Martial Alliance Leader in check, they had instead empowered him.
“…Huh? Did I do something wrong?”
But Changcheon Sword Elder Na Il-cheon merely blinked.
He turned to the other Sect Leaders and said.
“I merely asked what I was curious about… Did this old man make some kind of mistake?”
“…No.”
“Haha, of course not…”
“We have high expectations for the upcoming exam. Haha!”
Na Il-cheon, tilting his head in bewilderment, was undeniably an oblivious old man.
The Sect Leaders seethed with anger at his exasperating behavior, but countless eyes were watching.
They couldn’t even dare to show a hint of dissatisfaction in their eyes.
‘What a useless old man. Whose side is he even on?’
‘He should have handed over the reins to his successor and retired to the back room long ago…’
‘Surely he hasn’t made some kind of deal with the Leader, has he?’
It was hardly surprising that the Sect Leaders harbored such suspicions.
“Heh heh. I’m looking forward to it. I hear this year’s Rising Stars are quite something to behold…”
Regardless, Na Il-cheon’s eyes sparkled brightly.
And Yeo Pil-geuk, who gave him a wry smile, infused his voice with Internal Energy and shouted.
“Then, let the exam begin! Participants, please come up in the order your names are called!”
As the first participant ascended the dueling stage, everyone held their breath for the impending clash between the Martial Alliance Leader and the Rising Stars.
*
Thwack!
With a booming sound, the participant who had been sent flying off the dueling stage regained his balance in mid-air and landed on both feet.
“I can still… Ugh!”
The participant, whose face had turned ghostly pale, bent over and vomited up everything he had eaten that morning and the night before.
And then, completely exhausted, he collapsed.
As the medical team carried away the unconscious participant, Yeo Pil-geuk flicked his finger with an indifferent expression.
“Next.”
“I shall learn a move from the Leader!”
The result for the next participant, who ascended with a solemn expression, was not much different from the one before.
“Ugh—!”
Thud.
“Next.”
Yeo Pil-geuk’s fists showed no mercy.
The benevolent-eyed Leader, who had proudly watched all the participants, was no more.
With an indifferent expression, like a man made of iron, he sent every martial artist who stepped onto the dueling stage flying.
CRASH!
Nine out of ten dropped their weapons with the first punch.
WHAM!
The second punch delivered a shock that rattled their very bones.
BOOM!
And the third punch sent them soaring through the air, falling off the dueling stage.
The majority of those who stepped onto the dueling stage couldn’t withstand three moves and either collapsed or lost consciousness.
Participants from the Eight Great Sects were also crushed without exception.
Each time their disciples were sent flying off the dueling stage, the Sect Leaders’ eyebrows twitched.
After sending twenty people flying off the dueling stage in a row, Yeo Pil-geuk clapped his two fists together and said.
“Did you perhaps think it would be easy to become a First-Rate Expert?”
“…”
The confident expressions of the Rising Stars were twisting into grimaces of discomfort.
‘He’s probably going easy on them, too.’
Ki Mu-hyeok tried to analyze the Leader’s movements and techniques as much as possible until his turn came, but after more than twenty people were sent flying by those punches, he decided to give up.
“It’s pointless.”
All twenty were defeated in the exact same way.
It meant that no one had managed to block him, even though he used the same three moves in the same order, without changing his stance from beginning to end.
In the midst of it all, the Leader even offered necessary advice to the martial artists he was facing.
“You have a habit of twitching your shoulder before attacking. Fix it, or better yet, make it a feint.”
“…Yes!”
BOOM!
“You’re thinking too much. Against an equal or a weaker opponent, perhaps, but against an expert far above you, it’s right to focus solely on your natural movements.”
“Ah, I understand!”
CRACK!
“Focus on your breathing first. Don’t be nervous, try it slowly.”
“Hoo, hoo, hoooo…”
“Good. Well done.”
THUD!
Truly overwhelming divine might.
Though he was known to have passed his prime due to physical aging, such an assessment was rendered meaningless; Yeo Pil-geuk’s current appearance was truly akin to a War God.
“Was the Leader still that powerful?”
“I thought only his moniker, ‘Fist King,’ remained…”
“Hmph. So this is why the Korean Martial Alliance can stand tall even against the pressure of the Eight Great Sects.”
Even the dignified dignitaries from all walks of life began to murmur, witnessing the Martial Alliance Leader’s martial prowess.
When he first announced he would personally conduct the exam, they had merely found it interesting, but seeing his might firsthand, their jaws dropped.
No matter what anyone said, the true protagonist of this event was Martial Alliance Leader Yeo Pil-geuk.
“Next.”
“Next.”
“Next.”
The Martial Alliance Leader, who had been acting as an impenetrable examiner, seemingly intent on failing everyone, showed a different reaction for the first time.
“Next!”
The moment he saw the young man newly ascending the dueling stage, the Martial Alliance Leader’s lips, which had been so indifferent, curved into a wide smile.