Chapter 3

The systematic teaching of martial arts and the cultivation of disciples have produced generation after generation of outstanding figures.
However, the branches of the martial arts, driven by profit and hegemony, have always been fragmented.
Occasionally, a few exceptional masters would emerge, but they would inevitably lose out to the mainstream schools.
In response, the Ten Doors, the so-called heavens of Mado, joined forces to form the Mado Forest Alliance.
Demon Hall.
This place, called the Demonic Martial Hall, was modeled after the Martial Hall of the main sect, and became the center of the power of the Heavenly Martial Sect.
Around noon.
The entrance to the hall was lined with people.
The line showed no sign of abating, as each person had to sign a guest book to enter.
“Alas, they’ve gathered like a cloud.”
Mo Guang, the gatekeeper at the entrance, sighed heavily and muttered to himself.
His colleague next to him, Zhang Sam, shook his head.
“Of course. As long as you’re good enough, they’ll give you a chance to learn martial arts regardless of faction. Who would be a fool to pass up this opportunity?”
“Damn it. If I were younger, I’d apply for the Ten Demon Warriors.”
The Ten Demon Warriors Program.
The Zheng Clan had recently raised eighteen co-warriors under the name of the Great Master of Righteousness due to the recent rise of the Demon City.
The Magi were fed up with this, and announced the Ten Warriors Plan.
-I will select ten martial artists, regardless of faction, and teach them the martial arts of the Ten Doors!
When the news of the plan spread, the martial arts community quickly became excited.
-Let’s go, to the battlefield!
The ten pillars of Mado are called the ten martial arts.
To be able to master the heavens and earth-shattering jutsu to your heart’s content!
Even the disciples of the Daoist Sect and the sons of the Sega Clan, who usually shunned the Maze, flocked to the Maze.
The gatekeepers at the gate remained on duty until their shift ended.
“It’s like this again today.”
Mo Guang muttered as he watched the sun slowly set, and his colleague Zhang Shan nodded.
“It’ll be quieter tomorrow.”
In the distance, a small shadow trudged toward the setting sun.
It was a skinny boy carrying a sack.
“Huh?”
Mo Guang rubbed his eyes as he looked at the boy.
The boy’s hair was scattered and his clothes were torn like rags.
His shoes were almost worn out, and there was blood on the soles of his feet.
The clothes he wore were the robes of a funeral director, and on his back hung the bamboo box and sword that carried the funeral goods.
“Who died?”
“No one’s dead, man, and the ten-horse tournament hasn’t even begun yet.”
Mo Guang muttered.
“And who would use such a young dye in a place like ours?”
“Really?”
Zhang San next to him opened his mouth in disbelief.
“But what the hell does he look like, he looks like a living corpse.”
His scattered hair covered his eyes, and his lips were cracked and dripping with blood.
I can imagine walking for three or four months without stopping.
Tumbling.
Slowly, the boy reached the front door.
Sigh.
Looking up at the magnificent gates, the boy clenched his fists tightly.
“Grandpa.
His hazy eyes suddenly blazed with a blood red glow.
‘This is the beginning.’
* * *
After burying her grandfather in a sunny spot, Bu Eunseol tidied up the interior of the pyeonganjang shrine.
It had been a simple life, and aside from the ritual items, all that remained were Bu Zhan Yang’s robes and sword.
And a bamboo box for various ritual tools.
“Huh?”
Bu Eun-sul picked up the box containing her grandfather’s only relics, the robe and sword.
She blinked when she noticed a small box next to it.
“What is this?”
She opened the box to reveal a robe that fit her perfectly and a pair of small swords.
“…….”
Bu Zhanyang had already purchased the robes and swords. For her upcoming birthday.
-Happy birthday.
Looking at the box with the short note, Bu Eunseol’s heart sank again.
“Grandpa.”
Hugging the box tightly, she sobbed under her breath.
Grandpa was the kindest man in the world.
The grandfather who filled this cold world with warmth.
The most beloved grandfather in the world, Mr. Bu Zhanyang, is not in this world.
“Revenge…… I must have revenge!”
As she cried out while hugging the box, Bu Eun-sul’s eyes turned blood red.
She used to be as innocent as a child.
But when his grandfather was brutally murdered, that transparent innocence turned to revenge and madness.
When he had finished organizing everything, he put on his grandfather’s robes and carried a bamboo box.
“I need to cultivate martial arts.”
The beast that killed his grandfather must be a martial arts master.
If so, he must go to the place where they gathered. And he must learn a martial art that can break the martial arts system.
The answer was already there for him.
“Mazen.”
The Mazen, a treasure trove of martial arts, a gathering of martial arts masters.
Moreover, wasn’t the Mazen currently holding a tournament for the Ten Mazen, a gathering of martial artists under the age of eighteen to pass on their knowledge?
This was a chance for a stroke of genius.
* * *
“What brings you here?”
A low voice snapped Bu Ruoxue out of her reverie.
“I’ve come to attend the Ten Demon Warriors Competition.”
Mo Guang looked down at the robed Bu Eunseol and pointed to the guest book with a sigh.
“Write in the guest book.”
When Bu Eun-sul picked up the brush and wrote her name, Mo Guang said.
“Also write your sect.”
“Sect…….
She had never formally studied martial arts, let alone a school.
After a moment’s hesitation, Bu Eun-sul picked up the brush again and began to write in ink.
-Zhan Yangfa, Bu Eun-sul.
Looking down at the guest book, Mo Guang and Zhang Shan looked at each other and smiled bitterly.
-You’ve sent a disciple from the Tie Qi Sect again.
Ever since the plan for the Ten Demon Warriors had been announced, not only the major sects of the city, but also the disciples of the three major sects in the remote areas of the city had attended.
Still, the hall was not filled to capacity.
“Then read this and make your move.”
Mo Guang held out a piece of paper next to the guest book.
Bu Eun-sul took the paper and read the words on it.
-…Strategy…In order to eliminate any confusion, the entire body of those who apply for the Ten Demon Warriors will belong to the main hall.
Therefore, even if you lose your life, you will not be able to……Hindsight
In short, as long as you have applied to the Ten Demon Warriors, you will be trained and killed, or you will be beaten to death by the headmen.
It was a kind of body waiver that could never be challenged.
“It’s impossible.
Mo Guang sneered as he looked at Bu Eunseol.
So far, countless floaters had come to the martial arts center, but when they saw the contents of the memorandum, they all turned back.
Only a madman or someone crazy about martial arts would sign a memorandum to give up their body.
Ugh.
But Bu Eun-sul didn’t hesitate to tear off her finger and make it bleed.
“You’re crazy.
Mo Guang felt the hairs on his head stand up as he met Bu Eunseol’s cold, frozen eyes.
“Can we go in?”
“Come in.”
Once inside, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
“This is the main hall.
When she had heard that it was a place where martial artists gathered, she had imagined it to be like a den of demons.
But the inside was grand and majestic, with a solemn atmosphere like a temple.
The sound of voices.
After walking for a while, I heard the sound of many people talking in the distance.
When I followed the sound, I saw a large performance hall.
There were many people lined up like clouds, and there was a high dais at the end of the stage.
“…….”
On top of the dais stood a muscular old man with a lion’s mane of hair, followed by a clean-cut middle-aged man.
Zi Ying.
At that moment, a low sound rang out from the gong on the stage.
When the din that filled the stage died down, the muscular old man standing on the stage spoke up.
“I am the head of the organization, Leng Lianneng.”
At that moment, the theater shook.
The golden blood-eyed Lian Ning.
He had lowered his status to become the head of the Ten Demon Warriors in order to ensure their success.
This alone showed how much he cared about the Ten Demon Warriors’ plans.
“This is the meeting for the election of the First Magus.”
Liu Lianyung’s voice was not loud, but it was filled with a grandeur that allowed the participants to hear him clearly.
“In other words, you must pass through all the gateways created by the main hall to officially become a candidate for the Ten Demon Warriors.”
He swept his gaze across the densely packed stage and spoke again.
“From now on, the masters of the Weak King Party will examine your bones.”
Before he finished speaking, dozens of hanglings emerged from behind the dais.
“And only those who are chosen by them will be able to become the Ten Horse Warriors.”
At those words, the theater stirred again.
The martial arts master’s disciples, in particular, began to protest openly.
-The gateway is to examine the bones. How does that make sense?
-We’d rather have a non-dance competition!
Whether or not the outcry grew louder and louder, the members of the Medicine King’s Party began to weed out children with strong muscles.
Soon, a skinny one approached Bu Eun-sul’s direction.
“……!”
He was stunned to see her dressed in a robe.
“You must be Zhang Sangmundo.”
He made a face, but then his sharp eyes scanned her body and touched her shoulders, back, and legs.
“Wrong.”
He muttered lowly and walked past Bu Eunseol.
“I see.
Bu Eunseol narrowed her eyes.
All she had ever learned was to clean corpses. It was rather strange to find out that her muscles were suitable for martial arts.
“But this won’t be the end.
Bu Eun-sul was sure of it.
‘But I can assure you that it’s not the end of the story.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gathered the participants here with a guest book and a memorandum.
“It’s over!”
Once the chosen ones had moved on, there was a deathly silence in the hall.
Less than two hundred children had been chosen from what seemed to be a thousand square meters.
“What kind of law is this!”
A boy standing at the front of the stage cried out in frustration.
“If the ten warriors are chosen by simply examining their muscles, then what’s the point of holding a tournament if they’re not going to send the members of the Weak King Party to the various sects?”
The boy’s words made sense.
“There are two reasons.”
Looking down at the boy, Liu Lianyung spoke up.
“First and foremost, the most important thing to mastering martial arts is the muscles. This tournament is not only for the disciples and former students of the Great Sect, but also for those who do not belong to the Great Sect.”
“But…….”
“The second reason is to find a cultivator who can master the martial arts well, even if their muscles are not good.”
At that moment, the faces of the boys and girls on the stage brightened.
Wasn’t this a second chance after all?
“I will now begin my transfer.”
Liu Lianyung looked at the contestants below the stage and smiled.
“From now on, you will fight and survive.”