Chapter 14

Chapter 14

“Please continue to work hard here.”
“Thank you.”
“You are to learn the first movements of the Hua Wu Sword, the local starboard, starting tomorrow, so come out to the training grounds by Jinshi.”
Bu Eunseol bowed her head and turned away.
As he slowly walked out of the training grounds, his eyes met those of the five waiting trainees.
“…….”
A chill radiated from the five pairs of eyes.
Bu Eunseol knew what those eyes meant, but he said nothing and returned to his abode.
The entrance to his cave was very narrow and low.
He could barely squeeze in without crouching down to the ground.
Once inside, there was a musty-smelling, muddy area, but once past that, a large, flat space opened up.
Shuffle.
He laid down on a pile of grass that he had made into a bed.
How much time had passed?
He lay back, his eyes tightly closed, until he suddenly flicked them open and sighed.
“So this is what it comes down to.”
Slowly, Bu Eunseol rose to his feet and picked up the iron sword he had set aside.
He walked deeper into the dark cave, pushing against a large boulder in the corner.
It creaked.
The seemingly unmovable boulder gave way easily to Buunsul’s touch.
Upon closer inspection, it was not a real rock, but an elaborate fake rock.
Dulcak.
With a hollow sound, the boulder was set down, and a space large enough for a person to lie down was dug out underneath.
“I never thought that making coffins with my grandfather would come in handy here.
To make a coffin, wood is cut into various shapes to form a curved surface.
Buunseol made curved fake rocks out of wood from various parts of Hell Island, and then stuck piles of dirt on top.
Of course, in the light of day, it looked crude, but in the dark cave, it was hard to tell.
“Hmm.”
Crouching down, Buunsul pushed the fake rock back up to its original position.
And soon enough,
Ssshhh.
With a low sound, five shadowy figures crept into the cave.
“Isn’t …… there?”
One of the shadows peered into the dark cave and spoke in an irritated voice.
“I thought I saw him go in!”
The shadow opposite him shook his head.
“Wallflower, she said she saw the skinny bastard go in here.”
“But he’s not here.”
“I know. Damn it.”
Bu Eun-sul’s eyebrows twitched as she heard voices from beneath the rocks.
The voice of one of them sounded very familiar.
-Doesn’t that mean something similar to the day of the examination or the day of the new examination?
It was the voice of one of the five trainees who had tested with her in the training center.
“That bastard. I definitely wanted to give him a hand!”
“I mean, I had a bad feeling about him from the first time he put on that weird robe.”
“He’s been hiding his skills since he was an intermediate, and he’s been killing people.”
“And then he came out of nowhere and started acting all cocky, and now we’re the ones who’ve been rejected from the upper ranks!”
“So it was you.
The five shadows that had broken into the cave were the same cultivators who had taken the exam together in the Upper Hall.
They had all failed the exams that Dan Tianyang had given them, and they had unnecessarily harbored a grudge against Bu Eunsul.
“Better to look at her with contempt.
Hiding under a rock, Bu Eunseol sneered bitterly.
When he left the training grounds today, he noticed that the five trainees’ eyes were unusually cold.
Apparently, they had entered the cave they were staying in and were planning to make a surprise attack.
“I don’t think we need to kill you.
The way he said it, it was clear that they hadn’t come to kill him, but rather to give him a good beating to work off their frustration.
“I’m not guaranteed to win.
They may have fallen from grace, but they’re disciples of the Mado School who’ve been studying swordsmanship for years.
Even if they had mastered the beast sword, they hadn’t fought many battles, so there was no guarantee of victory.
“Chet, let’s go.”
Fortunately, they were out of the cave in no time.
Sensing that they were out of earshot, Bu Eun-sul moved the fake rock again and rose from the ground.
“We’ll have to stay in the upper hall for now.”
Fortunately, there was a seniority room inside the upper hall where practitioners could practice their martial arts day and night.
“……!”
At that moment, Bu Eunsun’s eyes flashed in the darkness.
A black shadow stood in front of the entrance of the completely deserted cave.
“You’ve truly mastered the Beast Sword.”
The shadow was dressed in the baggy robes issued by the Infernal City.
But the black cloth was tied tightly around his face, and his eyes were so androgynous that it was hard to tell if he was a woman or a man.
Chulkuk.
The shadow shook its head as Bu Eunseol eagerly touched the iron sword.
“No need to draw your sword. I’m not here to fight.”
“…….”
“You’re a man of few words, good.”
The Shadow’s voice was as low as steel, as if it had been deliberately modulated.
The Shadow nodded again as Buunsul gripped the hilt of his sword, waiting for the next word.
“As you may have guessed, there will soon be a bloodbath in this infernal city.”
Bu Eunseol looked surprised.
Most of the practitioners here didn’t know about the Jay Gate, and most of them were going about their daily routine in a relaxed and comfortable manner.
How could this man have guessed such a thing?
“Hmph, up until now, you’ve only been amongst the ragtag bunch.”
The Shadow snorted at the look in Bu Eun-sul’s eyes.
“There are many thrifty people in this city who are just as savvy and talented as you.”
“What is it you want to say?”
The Shadow spoke in a low voice in response to Buunsul’s question.
“I want to invite you to join our pack.”
“A pack?”
“The original plan was to have ten warriors. In other words, out of all these applicants, only ten need to be accepted.”
Each time the voice from the shadows echoed through the caverns, an ominous dark cloud seemed to gather.
“Why would you offer me such a thing?”
Bu Eun-sul spoke blandly without changing her expression.
“Just now, you said that there are many martial artists who are superior to me.”
“Yet, you are the only one who has mastered the Nangyagak Beast Dao.”
“Is that so.
Bu Eun-sul narrowed her eyes.
The shadow in front of him was probably one of the trainees at the intermediate level of the Huayu Sword Gate.
“Besides, if he can kill Wall Han in a single blow, even though it’s his first time holding a sword, he has a good chance of becoming a …… ten-horse warrior.”
A strange heat rose in Shadow’s voice.
“We have a great deal of talent in our ranks. We’ll share what we’ve learned from each of them, and discuss our future endeavors.”
“So.”
“If we work together, no matter what happens in the future, we will be able to become the Ten Demon Warriors.”
Bu Eunseol nodded inwardly.
With no way of knowing what the future would bring, it was never a bad thing to join forces with martial artists who excelled in various fields.
“Do you accept?”
The shadow asked, and Bu Eunseol shook her head firmly.
“I decline.”
“Why?”
“First, there’s no guarantee that the Ten Horsemen will be able to select ten people.”
“Hmm.”
“If I choose fewer people, it will only increase the number of people who know my weaknesses.”
Bu Eunseol’s voice was bland.
“Nine enemies who know me well are more terrifying than a hundred who don’t know me.”
“Hmph. Feng Shui. You really do have a small liver.”
The Shadow sneered, then nodded.
“You will weep and regret later that you refused this body’s offer.”
And with that, it vanished into the darkness.
“Hmm.”
Once the shadow was out of sight, Bu Eun-sul sank back into the grass.
“It’s going to be tough from here on out.”
The only reason Bu Eun-sul had survived in the Jia Guan was because she was despised and looked down upon.
It was never a good thing to be seen by so many people as the strongest.
* * *
“The reason why the sword art of the text is recognized as the first martial art is because it opens up many different paths to cultivation.”
Inside the Hua Wu Gumen, the training hall of the upper echelon.
There were trainees sitting at tables, and Dan Tianyang was teaching them in a low voice.
“There are many paths to the Hua Wu Sword. In this upper level hall, you must transform the local right-handed sword formulas that have been passed down to you into your own sword formulas to create fire raindrops.”
Holding the branch, Dan Tianyang lightly stretched out his hand.
In an instant, the light that had illuminated the world vanished, and a suffocating darkness descended upon the earth.
A snap.
As the branches danced in the air, a fierce aura of power flashed across the practitioners’ cheeks.
“This is the Hua Wu Sword.
Watching Dan Tianyang’s demonstration, Bu Eunsul took a deep breath.
When he blinked, all he could see was a beam of light, and even Bu Eunsul, who had cultivated the Beast Dao and possessed a supersensory sense, found it difficult to predict the path of the Hua Wu Sword.
”If it weren’t for the teachings of the Heavenly Head, I would never have realized the subtleties of the Hua Wu Sword.
The study of Ascended Sword is like a science.
If you don’t understand and interpret the sword rules, no matter how much you practice, you won’t be able to reach the righteousness.
Even as he was learning, Bu Eunsul was constantly memorizing the tricks and tips of the Ascended Sword Technique.
It was only because of this that he was able to savor and understand Dan Tianyang’s lectures and demonstrations to a certain extent.
Sigh.
After unfurling all of his sword herbs, Dan Tianyang casually tucked the branches into his waistband.
There was a breathtaking silence in the performance hall. The instantaneous sword technique that Dan Tianyang had displayed had a long-lasting effect.
“You, too, Nobu, have merely demonstrated one path from many branches.”
Looking at the awe-filled gazes of the trainees, Dan Tianyang smiled.
“As you can see, if you can skillfully unfold the local right hand, you can break the peak of the sword techniques scattered throughout the heavens.”
The local right-hand sword, which contained the secrets of the mountain sword, was best suited to defend against sudden attacks.
However, with Dan Tianyang’s magnificent swordplay and swiftness, it seemed to be a mysterious sword that was almost invisible.
“I guess it’s time for me to see the fire raindrops you’ve created.”
And his gaze settled on the icy eyes of the boy, the most still of the trainees.
“Snowflakes.”
“Yes.”
“Unfold the local starboard side.”
Bu Eunseol locked eyes with Dan Tianyang and sighed inwardly.
She had been practicing swordsmanship in the upper hall for a month now. Every time he taught her about the law and swordsmanship, Dan Tianyang asked her more questions than anyone else.
And now, he wanted her to demonstrate her first fire sword.
“It can’t be helped.
As an actress, she couldn’t be angry at being the center of attention.
Swallowing a bitter laugh, Bu Eunseol walked to the center of the stage and gripped the hilt of her sword.
Thrumming.
As he drew the iron sword, the expressions of Dan Tianyang and the other trainees became strange.
Like the sun rising in the morning sky, he gripped the iron sword with both hands and held it high above his head.
“…….”
A tense tension flowed out like a bowstring being pulled.
Pow!
A gust of wind came out of nowhere.
At the same time, Bu Eunseol’s iron sword, which showed no sign of moving, began to slice through the air.
Purrrrr.
With the sound of the wind whipping around, a brilliant sword herb scattered above Feng Shui’s head.
The sword shadows that filled the sky descended to the ground, spreading out in all directions like firecrackers.
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
At the same time, sharp marks were carved into the ground around where Bu Eunseol was standing.
It was as if dozens of giant beasts had trampled the ground.
The first two swords, the Hua Wu Sword and the local starboard sword, were spread out from the top of his head to the bottom, and he slashed through the area around three or four sheets.
Iron Kuck.
Another heavy silence descended on the training center as Bu Eunseol sheathed the iron sword.