Chapter 87

Chapter 87

The second test begins in a dungeon-like setting.
Inside, an unpleasant musty smell mixed with humid air, and dim oil lamps hung on the stone walls.
“In order to master the sword method we have created, you must not only have a pure heart, but also the endurance of a camel, and a terrifying amount of patience.”
This time, the exam was being conducted by Woohak, not Seoksong.
He looked at the two dozen masked men and spoke in a low voice.
“When the gong sounds, you must hold the mabo position with your arms open for one period. If you slip out of that position, or if you can’t hold it, you’re out.”
Wu Hak smiled and spoke again.
“If he can’t hold on, I don’t mind breaking the stance of others. Of course, you’ll have to maintain your own mabo stance.”
At those words, a murmur filled the room.
The invitees, who cannot be identified, are all young and rising stars in the crypto space.
And you want me to do a bunch of mabo stances that are only for people who are just learning martial arts?
“This is a matter of pride.”
The man in the dog mask sighed and shook his head.
“Honestly, it’s not like I’m in desperate need of a Heavenly Swordsman.”
Most of the figures nodded as the dog-masked man spoke.
All of them came from great backgrounds, so there were very few who were uneducated.
I just came because I wanted to teach martial arts without any restrictions at the long-established Heavenly Sword Academy.
“I won’t.”
Eventually, the man in the dog mask said to Woohak.
“If this is what I have to do to learn swordsmanship, then I will learn the swordsmanship of my family.”
The use of the word “main family” suggests that the man in the dog mask may be a master from the eight generations.
At that, the three people standing behind him nodded.
“I’ll go too, I don’t want to learn how to sword after all this.”
“I agree. I was curious when I heard you were teaching the sword arts unconditionally, but there’s no need for this.”
The Murim are proud.
Especially if you’re a descendant of a great school or a master who has access to the Ascension Martial Arts, you don’t have to be self-conscious about learning martial arts.
Woohak nodded grimly.
“Maybe that’s a wise choice,” you think, “whoever’s leaving can head for the exit immediately.”
The four figures, including the dog mask, immediately walked out of the stone room.
“Too bad.
The fluffy snow was disappointing.
‘I thought there would be some sort of non-mu.
All of the people who just left are either descendants of great families or disciples of the Great Sect.
I thought I was going to have a bloody battle with them, but…… the test was holding on to the mambo position.
“Peaceful transmission of martial arts.
In the past, we’ve had people kill each other for the sake of selecting the best.
But the Heavenly Sword Council’s tests are peaceful. It was a fair test, testing only the qualities they wanted to see.
“Then let’s get started.”
At Wu Hak’s words, the eleven masked men, including Bu Eunseol, immediately assumed the Mabo stance.
Everyone here had a basic level of hollowing out.
I was told to hold on for one shot, but at these levels, it’s like standing there without thinking.
“What is this smell?”
Then someone snorted.
It was very humid and dark. And from somewhere, an indescribable stench was wafting in.
“Woohoo!”
At that moment, someone gagged.
Every time I breathe in, a runny nose of tears pours out.
I’ve tried using a fish poison, but it didn’t work. So it’s not poison.
But every breath I take feels like I’m forcing decades of carrion and guts into my nose and mouth.
“Woof!”
Soon, a groan of pain echoed through the room.
Every time I breathe, tearful snot pours out. No matter how hard I tried to pull myself together, I couldn’t stop the pain from the smell.
“What’s all the fuss about?
Bu Eunseol, in the Mabo position, frowned at the suffering.
“It’s unlikely that the martial artists are new to the smell.
The foul odor wafting through the stone chamber was none other than the stench of sichuan, the odor of a decaying corpse.
The problem was that it wasn’t just any old jade, but the Ten Thousand Year Fire Incense, which is said to make even a master of Zhang Sangmun, who specializes in corpses, hold his nose and run away.
But Bu Eun-sul has always dealt with the strange corpses that have been reported to the Pocheng. Once she ate noodles while cleaning a rotting corpse, and once she fell asleep while stitching up a ruptured gut.
“It reminds me of when I was salting.
For him, it was rather a nostalgic, wistful incense.
“Ugh. I can’t stand it!”
But unlike Bu Eun-sul, a few of the men who were forced into the mambo position eventually kicked down the door and ran out.
Puffy.
Those who remained staggered, barely able to maintain the mabo position.
The only good thing was that I was wearing a mask.
If they could see each other’s faces, their misery would be publicized for all to see.
“Ugh.”
The music continued to echo through the room.
Those gathered in the stone room realized why the Jay Gate was said to require patience as well as strength and endurance.
Even if you don’t breathe, the vile odor penetrates your skin. Few would endure another day in such agony.
“I can’t do this!”
Eventually, another man in a mambo pose in the corner opened the door to the stone room and ran outside.
Then another three or four people followed, slamming the door and running out in quick succession.
“Mmm.”
After about a meal, I was at the point where I couldn’t even spit out a groan.
Suddenly, those who remained realized two obvious things.
-Here, even the Daelashin can’t withstand Han Shijin.
For those already inside the stone chamber, the incense from the Ten Thousand Year Fire Incense was enough to numb not only their noses but their entire bodies.
No matter how hard I held my breath, the smell seeped through my skin, and I could feel the pain as if my organs were rotting together inside.
These poisons are not normally very powerful, but in a place like this, where you’re blocked on all sides, they’re as effective as the Three Great Poisons.
-If he can’t hold on, he doesn’t mind breaking other people’s stances. Of course, you’ll have to hold your own.
And why Woohak said this.
Was it selfish?
Whoosh. Papak.
The pumpkin masked man in the middle of the room maintained an open arm position and struck the bum-tailed man in the knee.
“Eek.”
The suddenness of the attack caused the cloaked one’s jaws to curl inward.
But the man in the bamboo armor was a solid fighter. He immediately moved his knee to counterattack.
Papa-pap! Tat-tat!
The two masters in the mabo position began to move their feet in unison.
Then, as if promised, those who remained began to eliminate the competitors around them.
PapaPak.
With a cracking sound, the man in the wolf mask attacked Buunsul’s knee.
Boom! Ta-da!
The wolf-masked man stretched out his paws, the hem of his robe rustling, creating dozens of foot shadows.
It was similar to the inexplicable void, but full of life.
“You’re going to break my ankle.
Originally, Bu Eun-sul hadn’t mastered the Kwon Gakji method, so he couldn’t properly use each method.
But he anticipated the Wolf Masked Man’s maneuvers and dodged the attack with ease.
He is the sole practitioner of the legendary divine law of the Nangyagak, the Extreme Speed Martial Arts.
Having been trained in the Absolute Divine Law, a combination of the extreme bodhisattva and divine law that allows for hundreds of changes of direction in a single breath, avoiding each of the laws was yawningly easy.
“Yikes!”
Eventually, a pitiful scream rang out from the wolf masked man’s mouth.
After twenty seconds of combat, Bu Eunseol’s ghostly knee strike struck the Wolf Masked One in the gut.
“Inoom!”
The wolf-man’s posture loosened, and he suddenly poked two fingers into Swollen Snow’s eyes with venom in his eyes.
Pagagak!
But Bu Eun-sul’s kicks were faster.
The wolf masked man let out a pitiful scream as bones snapped. His ankle had been crushed.
“Ew, I’ll kill you!”
The one in the wolf mask was mortified and immediately drew the sword at his belt.
Then a solemn voice came from the ceiling of the stone chamber.
“This is not a place for killing. Leave the room immediately.”
The wolf masked man with the sword hesitated for a moment.
But when he remembered the sword that Seoksong had shown him earlier, he gritted his teeth and walked out of the stone chamber.
“You! I will kill you!”
Whoosh, percussion.
Whether the wolf man left or not, the inside of the stone chamber became an arena for fighting in the mabo stance.
Pagagak!
At that moment, the fox-masked Dangon’s blow caused the pig-masked one’s knees to buckle and he fell to the ground.
“You son of a bitch!”
The man in the pig mask lost his temper and drew a dagger from his bosom.
But that’s like writing in the presence of Confucius.
Papapap!
The man with the dagger had three poisoned daggers in his chest pocket.
“Ugh.”
As the poisoned pig-masked man staggered away, Dangon spoke in a low voice.
“Hurry up and take the antidote. Otherwise, you’ll be poisoned for life.”
“Per, you are…….”
Angry and poisonous. Isn’t that a favorite poison and mnemonic of the Tang family?
The pig masked man shuddered as he realized Tang Gong’s true identity. He rushed out of the stone chamber.
Meanwhile, there were only five people in the stone chamber in the Mabo position.
“The jig is up.”
At the sound of Wu Hak’s voice, the fog in the stone chamber dissipated, and the air slowly cleared.
“Whoa.”
The five remaining people released their mabo positions and inhaled deeply as if they had made a promise.
This is because I’ve been almost breathing through it.
-I guess I wasn’t really learning martial arts after all.
Unlike the first gateway, the second one caused me pain like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
The five remaining masters looked at each other. By the sounds of it, none of them were weak.
-I’m guessing the last one is going to be Beemu.
As the five masters looked at each other and tensed, Seoksong and Wu Hak entered the room, shoulder to shoulder.
“Come back to where you started.”
When none of the five stepped forward, Seoksong sneered bitterly.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to make you guys pay each other.”
As the five of them emerged from the stone chamber and gathered back in the clearing where they’d been working, Seoksong said.
“You are exceptional jutsu, with natural senses and life. It is a great pleasure to pass on the sword arts to them.”
He took a deep breath and continued.
“But this is a killing blade, made to kill someone. It is no ordinary sword.”
Everyone was expecting it, including the snowflakes.
Those who are born with the natural ability to live, for only the flesh-and-blood diet requires such a condition.
After a brief pause, Seoksong spoke again.
“I’m going to start the trilogy now.”
All the figures in the clearing lowered their postures as if nervous.
If the second gateway is this hard, the third is almost unimaginable.
“The third building is simple.”
But then something unexpected came out of Seoksong’s mouth.
“Promise me one thing, and you’ll pass the Three Jewels.”
Everyone in the room looked puzzled.
A third rail passes with only one promise?
“What promise?”
The fox-masked Tang Gong asked, and Shi Song said heavily.
“In exchange for being taught how to use the sword, you must swear to kill a man.”
“You mean to tell me that you’re willing to pass on the sword arts just by swearing an oath?”
“Natural wonders like you don’t just fall out of the sky.”
Seoksong smirked.
“You are disciples of the Great Sect, or descendants of great families. I trust that you will fulfill your promise.”
The promises of the descendants of the Great Sects and Families are heavier than gold.
This is because if you break your word, you bring dishonor upon yourself and the House of Vampana.
“I don’t know about anything else, but a promise to kill one person is not unreasonable, is it?”
Then the one in the yellow dragon mask said.
“They might ask you to kill someone ridiculous or someone close to you, which is practically impossible if they’re a martial artist or a key player in the war.”
“Good point.”
“Then why would you kill him?”
Stone Song grunted and shook his head.
“There’s a very complicated situation here. I can’t go into it in detail, so let’s just say…….”
Taking a deep breath, he spoke again.
“He is an adversary, an enemy of this meeting.”
Seoksong, eyes closed in misery, gritted his teeth and said.
“He has slaughtered all the swordsmen of this conference, including Huo Zhu!”