Chapter 3 - 16 to 22

About half an inch.

'What a typical trick.'

Even though he said he was ready, he guessed the opponent's intentions rather than feeling suspicious when the attack didn't come. They are the ones who decide the timing of the attack. If they are consuming their mental power every moment while raising their spirits, it is true that they have an overwhelming advantage.

Just delaying the timing of an attack can eat away at your stamina.

Dan-myung's guess was correct. The four Bong-wi-dae warriors had been in sync for a long time. That meant they could communicate with each other through eye contact. They were determined to completely break the spirit of the annoying boy.

The strategy was simple. When the boy was exposed to the exhaustion of his psychic power, he would simultaneously release the secret weapons from all directions. Originally, the test was to sequentially release the secret weapons from all directions with a time difference, but this time it was an exception. In any case, if three of them hit, the test would be stopped. In order to properly punish the boy, he wanted to release all the secret weapons almost simultaneously with a small time difference.

But there was something they didn't expect - the boy's mind had already reached the realm of the swordsman.

Mental exhaustion?

To the swordsman, stimulating his spirit was as natural and routine as breathing. It meant that it was already activated at all times. There was no way that the spirit would dull even after waiting for several days.

'It's a hassle.'

In the end, the boy deliberately showed his weakness. It seemed like the standoff would continue endlessly.

And as soon as the obvious opening appeared, the four Bongwidae warriors moved at the same time. They judged that the obvious concentration had hit rock bottom. The extreme standoff continued for half an hour. Of course, the term 'extreme' was only in their opinion… .

Anyway, the two hands of the Bongwidae warriors moved like lightning, and dozens of spears, daggers, and needle-like dark weapons rained down on Dangsangmyeong. The dark weapons were made of wood or had dull blades, but they were fast and had the experience of the Bongwidae warriors, so if they hit, they could easily cause serious injury.

The boy, who still had his eyes covered with a cloth, was standing there with his mouth open, not knowing whether he was aware of the danger he was facing.

'hmm?'

Dang Won-jin, who was watching the boy, felt a moment of doubt. Is that guy laughing right now…?

That's right.

The boy's posture was awkward, but he was clearly pulling his lips together, as if he had deliberately created this situation.

'There are 67 of them.'

Although his vision was limited, he was able to recognize each and every one of the secrets with his overwhelming senses. Since his internal energy was still low, the range of his senses was not that wide, but he did not miss anything that entered his area of detection.

Now you just have to dodge or block all the flying dark magic bullets.

'It's a simple thing.'

Dang-myeong quickly took out a shuriken from his bosom. It was something he had captured from Dang-mun-chan earlier. In the meantime, the secret weapons had almost reached his reach.

With pressure from all sides, it would have seemed like an impossible task for the boy to stop the dark energy from a third party.

However, Dang-myung calmly swung his shuriken. Once he reached the realm of the swordsman, the boy's eyes could see dozens of sword paths that could block the hidden weapons. Because of his still low internal energy, there weren't many options to choose from.

'Wear.'

He put one of his magic weapons on the shuriken. The shuriken, swinging around, naturally sucked in all the dark energy in its orbit. A line that snaked up and down was drawn around the boy.

Dozens of dark weapons fell down from under the shuriken that stopped immediately.

"… … ."

A cold silence, as if water had been poured over the crowd, fell over them. They were momentarily unable to accept what had happened. Some even held their breath.

"What happened just now…?"

"How did you avoid that in one move? You even covered your eyes?"

"Is that a test? We can't go back to the estate now, right? It seems like we'll have to continue living in the cave."

Dang Yi-jeon, Dang Yu-ri, and Dang Mi-ryeo, who had been watching the boy taking the test from a distance, barely broke the silence and whispered among themselves.

The guards remained silent for a while after that.

'What the heck is that guy? What the heck…?'

Dang Won-jin felt goosebumps as he watched the boy, number 28, slowly remove his blindfold.

The sense of humor could be outstanding. It could be that he was born with a keen sense of humor, or it could be developed through some kind of training. But how could he control the barrage of secrets pouring down like a shower from all directions in just one day?

This is something that requires not only being aware of the surrounding space, but also being in complete control of it.

Dang Won-jin seemed to know why the other Bongwidae warriors were silent. They must have been thinking about how they would have handled the situation like Boy No. 28.

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But even the party members didn't have the confidence to show a better response than the boy.

'… It looks like a monster has appeared.'

Dang Won-jin felt a little sorry for the other boys and girls who participated in the competition. It felt like he already knew who the future Sogaju would be. It was just a single move with a shuriken, but it was so impressive. It was like seeing a swordsman who had reached a peerless level.

"Did I pass?"

A boy who had come before anyone knew it asked a question while handing a black cloth to Dang Won-jin. Dang Won-jin could only nod. It was because he had passed the test perfectly, leaving no room for objection.

"…okay."

"Then, can I live in Jangwon starting today…?"

"Good. No. 28, you have already proven that you possess a level of senses that exceeds what we desire…"

Dang Won-jin trailed off. He had something he wanted to ask the boy. He was curious about the skill of sucking up hidden weapons with shurikens.

Sucked in⎯ That was the only way to describe it. At least to the Dangwonjin and other Bongwidae warriors, it seemed as if the boy's shuriken was a magnet, drawing the dark weapons in on its own.

From the perspective of someone who deals with memorization, it seemed like a completely contradictory skill. Even if I hadn't mastered it, I wanted to ask about it to find out how to deal with it.

However, the Bongwidae warriors, including Dangwonjin, were there to teach the participants in this competition. They were instructors. However, when they asked for instruction, they were in no shape to do so.

After thinking for a moment, Dang Won-jin hardened his expression as if he had made up his mind.

'I threw away all my pride at that time.'

He remembered the time when he had failed to protect the master he served. If he and Bongwidae had had enough power, Dangga would not have declined this much, and Dokbong would not have given up his position as Sogaju.

"Number 28."

"yes."

"I saw the move you showed me. It was very impressive."

"thank you."

"Can you tell me how you did it? I wonder if it is possible for even those with a lot of experience to receive it like that. It seemed like a natural skill to those who have mastered the art of memorization."

"…!"

Everyone except Dang Won-jin was surprised by Dang Won-jin's words. Dang Won-jin, who was in charge of training the seven competing teams, asked a boy to teach him. He gave him words that were nothing short of praise.

Jegal Changsin also shows interest, his eyes sparkling with interest.

The three remaining members of Chiljo were trembling in shock. They were saying that the owner of Soga had already been decided.

one side.

'Are you asking for a secret? Not the sword.'

Dang Myeong felt puzzled. From his perspective, Myori was just a simple principle of ignorance. After all, swordsmanship and swordsmanship contain many principles.

Simply put, it contains the principles of heavy (重), fast (快), and change (幻), and in the swordsmanship of a slightly higher level, it often contains things like breaking (破), scattering (散), sticking (着), cutting (斷), and sharpness (銳).

There are also extreme swords that mix multiple principles or implement one principle to its extreme.

Naturally, the name had already reached a realm where it could extract only such principles from each swordsmanship and swordsmanship and apply them as a theory. It was not a difficult task.

Rather, for Dang-myung, the sword path that he had learned by swinging it hundreds or thousands of times was more valuable. It was the same just a little while ago. Even if he had the secret of the secret, the essence was whether he could implement the sword path that could break all the secret weapons at once.

But of course, Deungmyung didn't intend to tell me that.

Not yet.

"Getting dressed isn't that difficult."

"It's not difficult…?"

"Yes, just a little bit of enlightenment is all that's needed."

"What if it was a little enlightenment?"

"It's about understanding the root of evil. It's about exploring its nature. That's where I can help."

"Really!"

The party leader was delighted. He and the other members of the Bongwidae were completely unmanned. They were people who wanted to somehow become stronger, somehow advance to the next level.

In fact, the part about learning nothing was not something that could be learned unconditionally just by asking for teaching. Unless you were in a master-student relationship, you had nothing to say even if the other person refused. That was because enlightenment was such a precious thing. One small enlightenment could be a milestone that would lead you to the next level.

Even though they didn't know it, the boy's mentality, sense, vision, and insight were on par with Kenshin's. Could it be an absurd coincidence?

The boy said with a grin.

"Instead, there is a small breeze."

"…Okay. What are the conditions?"

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"There are no conditions. It's just a really small wish."

"Listen and then judge."

"I just want you to prepare three meals a day, with meat on the side."

"…Is that the end?"

Dang Won-jin asked back with an expression of disbelief. This was in the mountains. It might be a bit troublesome, but hunting wild animals was no problem for the Bongwidae warriors. According to the boy, it was a really small condition.

"Oh, I hope you don't interfere with what I do. Not for one year, but for three years."

"… I'll think about that. For now, it's not supposed to interfere with your original training for a year."

"Also, if you want me to learn any other martial arts, please let me know without delay."

"That's what we were originally supposed to do."

"I plan to learn only what I want to learn."

"… You're a picky eater. Okay, I get it."

Dang Won-jin nodded with an expression that showed that he understood what the boy was saying. No. 28, Dang Yuan-myeong was asking to skip the current order and learn the martial arts of the ascending household appliances. He also said that he would only learn the ones he liked.

Originally, you should have refused to do it for proper training. If you ignore the order and learn the martial arts of ascension, your achievements may be delayed. The saying that the more you rush, the more you have to turn back applies to martial arts.

However, Dang Won-jin had already witnessed that the boy was an extraordinary talent. He had an intuition that it would be okay to leave him alone to do whatever he wanted. Perhaps he could be a genius who would blossom his talent on his own. That kind of anticipation arose.

"Then, I take it you have agreed."

In this way, a deal was reached that satisfied both parties. It's horrible. Really. I never thought I'd be doing something like this a few months ago."

"Me too. But what can I do? I have to do something to make a living."

Two girls were talking while skinning a dog-like beast. It was quite large for a dog, and the teeth in its snout were sharp. Like a wild beast.

The two were Dang Mi-ryeo and Dang Yu-ri.

The animal being groomed was a wolf. The skin was gathered on one side, and the meat was roughly cut out with a knife and piled on the other side. Although the skin was useful, there was no need to be frugal with the meat.

Anyway, there were wild beasts all around.

"Oh, Yuri. Do you remember that time…?"

****

The environment in which the seven boys and girls, excluding the obvious ones, were thrown was poor. First of all, the cave that was given as a shelter. It was deep enough to store various things, and they could stretch out their legs and sleep, but that was it. There was nothing. All they received were a few knives that the Bongwidae warriors gave them when they left.

The most annoying thing was the height at which the cave was located, three zhang (almost 10m) from the bottom of the cliff. They were promising talents within their own clan, but they were only twelve or thirteen years old. They had not yet achieved the divine ability to reach the dwelling with a single jump. Their internal energy was also lacking.

In the end, I had no choice but to climb up the cliff like a tiger on a wall by sticking a dagger into the cliff instead of my hand and stepping on it or holding on to the protruding rock fragments of the cliff.

However, the boys and girls who had complained about the cave being located high up began to be thankful for it as the night deepened and the moon rose.

The beasts appeared with a long howl. Most of the guys wandered around and retreated, but the wolf pack was different. They tried to climb the cliff several times throughout the night. Drooling.

The three boys and girls couldn't help but lose sleep at night. At first, they were only able to slide a little over a yard, but after a few hours, they got the hang of it and were able to climb up to almost two yard. It was a sight that made the onlookers' hearts sink.

If there were even a few wolves, I would have tried to go down and catch them, but there were almost thirty of them. It was a number that I couldn't even think of dealing with.

They retreated only after the sun rose. They had been scraping the cliff all night, so they were tired. The grumbling they made as they retreated was eerie, as if they were waiting to see what would happen.

In the end, Dang I-jeon, Dang Yu-ri, and Dang Mi-ryeo, who had been up most of the night, put their heads together to come up with a plan.

Actually, the conclusion was already made. We had to deal with them somehow.

It wasn't just for a good night's sleep.

Clearly, the common mountain was dangerous and full of all kinds of wild beasts.

But this was inside the formation. The formation was not only to prevent people from entering. The fact that these wild beasts had entered must have been the work of Zhuge Changsin or the Bongwidae warriors. That was the conclusion of the three.

And if the beasts that come in don't have any other prey to hunt…?

It was obvious that they would come to the cliff whenever they had a chance. They had confirmed that there were some young humans who looked like they were going to die.

He said he wouldn't interfere with your training for a year, but he wanted to create an environment where you have no choice but to become stronger to a certain extent. He also said he would take care of food on his own.

Under reasonable suspicion, the three prepared for the coming night. As expected of the children of the Tang family, each of them had a small amount of poison, but it was literally a small amount. And only Tang Yi-jeon had what could be called a deadly poison.

Besides, even if they had the poison, there was a problem. Poisoning them. Animals have much more sensitive senses than humans. It was obvious that even a moderately skilled poison would not work.

In such a situation, it was Dang Yi-jeon who suggested a solution. There were various types of grass and moss growing near the cliff, and he said that if you combined some of them with the poison they contained, you could create a new poison that causes paralysis.

As it turned out, Tang Yi-Jeon had a talent for making poison. He knew all kinds of poisonous plants and had a lot of experience making poison himself.

Dang Yuri and Dang Miryeo, who recognized that there was no other way, poured out all the poison they had and gathered all the nearby grass that seemed to be poisonous. They were also members of the Dang family. They could tell at least a rough idea whether the grass was poisonous or not.

So a large amount of paralyzing poison was made, and it was late at night.

With a whooshing sound, the wolves rushed towards the cliff again, and Dang Yi-jeon cut his palm with a dagger, causing blood to drip down.

Some of the wolves licked the blood drops and started howling and frolicking excitedly. After confirming this, Dang Yi-jeon sprayed the mixture of blood and paralyzing poison that he had prepared in advance over a wide area.

When something suddenly fell from above, most wolves backed away in caution, but those who had already tasted blood got excited and rushed at it as soon as they smelled the scent of blood. Then, they licked it frantically without even knowing that it was mixed with poison.

And then, a moment later, he collapsed on his back, rolled his eyes, and stuck out his tongue. The paralyzing toxin had taken effect.

It wasn't difficult to completely kill those who couldn't move by poisoning them.

That way I could kill seven wolves.

The wolves barked at the dead guys a few times, sniffed them carefully, and howled sadly. Dang-i-jeon sprayed the poisoned blood a few more times just in case, but the wolves didn't even bother to look at them anymore. Some of them even used their front paws to bury the blood in the dirt. They were quite clever.

They continued to climb the cliff until the sun rose. Now, most of them had gotten the hang of it and had climbed to a height well above the level of this ledge. The three of them had no choice but to lose sleep that night.

The sun rose and the guys retreated again.

I don't know if it was out of a sense of duty or because they felt bad about eating something and dying, but they just left the bodies of the dead men behind. I had thought that maybe they would eat my comrades, but my worries were completely unfounded.

The three were becoming sleepy, but they couldn't fall asleep. The wolves were climbing the cliff higher every day. They might jump into the cave where they were staying the next night. They had to come up with a plan first.

But there was something that came before the solution.

Meal. I haven't had a meal in over a day.

The three first skinned the dead wolves and removed their flesh. They had died from poison, but there was no major problem eating their meat. The poison spread mainly to the internal organs, and since Dang Yi-jeon, Dang Yu-ri, and Dang Mi-ryeo were members of the Dang family, they had some degree of resistance to poison. In fact, making fire was more of a problem.

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After building a fire with great difficulty and grilling meat to fill their stomachs, they fought off their drowsiness and went back to collecting poisonous plants. This was because they had already used up most of the poison they had made the day before.

Dang Yi-jeon again used the poison to make paralyzing poison, and this time he applied it generously to the remaining wolf meat. After applying the paralyzing poison, he did not forget to sprinkle wolf blood again to get rid of the smell. Of course, he did not intend to use this as bait to catch the wolves. For some reason, he thought that the wolves would recognize the meat of their comrades and would not even put it in their mouths.

The Tang Dynasty left meat marinated in poison at the path where animals walked. It was not difficult to find the path, as the footprints of wild beasts were visible just a little way from the cliff.

After a while, they got some sleep and went to the place where they had left the meat at sunset. As expected, the beasts were also trapped in the formation. Since there was very little prey, they had become so vicious that they would eat each other. There must have been some who got hurt while fighting. And if they found a tasty piece of meat on the road? They would rush at it without hesitation.

As expected.

All the meat was gone.

Some might have taken them to a safe place and eaten them, while others might have been so large that it would take a long time for the poison to take effect. Following the previous opinion, the three cautiously searched the surroundings and soon found a bear as big as a house lying on the ground.

It was clear that he had eaten wolf meat laced with paralyzing poison. And he had done it alone. He was still breathing, so Dang-i-jeon stabbed him several times in the area that would be equivalent to a human's carotid artery with a dagger. The guy coughed up blood and died quickly.

The three dragged the body to the cliff near their dwelling. It was quite, no, very heavy, but they were all trained in the internal energy derived from the Dokyocheong Gwangsim method, so they were able to move it somehow.

Before Tang Yi-jeon split the bear's belly open and applied paralyzing poison to the gallbladder, which was the side that did not have a gallbladder. He judged that it would be easier to fool the cunning wolves if he applied poison to only one side rather than both sides.

And so the third night came.

This time, Dang I-jeon, Dang Yu-ri, and Dang Mi-ryeo gathered in one cave. In Dang I-jeon's cave.

It was judged that if the three of them came together, their chances of survival would be slightly higher even if the wolves came up. The wolves who went up to the cave where there was no one would have come up empty-handed.

Awww⎯

The wolves returned with their now familiar howling sound.

The three held their breath and watched what the bastards were doing.

The men who came near the cliff saw the corpse of a huge bear and approached it cautiously, sniffing around. Then, one of them stepped forward, buried his head in the bear's split abdomen, and began to chew on something greedily.

This was important. What if the guy who ate the bear's intestines collapsed here?

Perhaps the wolves would notice that the young humans were up to something.

Pitter-patter, gulp.

Was it luck or bad luck? The one whose intestines had been eaten was fine after a few breaths. Only then did the wolves start to move. They all seemed quite hungry, and they buried their heads in the bear's corpse and began to eat it without thinking.

As most of the wolves' snouts turned blood red, a few of them began to fall down. The paralyzing poison had started to take effect. Only then did the wolves realize they had been hit and they began to vomit out what they had eaten, but it was already too late.

Tang Yi-jeon, Tang Yu-ri, and Tang Mi-ryeo's eyes lit up. There were less than ten of them left. Even among them, five or six did not seem to be in normal condition. It was clear that they had been affected by a small amount of paralyzing poison.

The three exchanged glances and jumped to the ground. They had decided that it was worth a try. They had poison and a sword, as well as other hidden weapons. Before jumping out of the cave, they quickly threw away the poisoned weapons.

A few of them, whose movements were unnatural, were unable to avoid the dark magic and were quickly defeated. They fell one by one, and only three remained.

It could have been dealt with through melee combat, but Dang Yi-jeon, Dang Yu-ri, and Dang Mi-ryeo insisted on poisoning it. They realized that a beast with sensitive senses was the perfect opponent for practicing poisoning techniques.

After several attempts, the three of them succeeded in poisoning the remaining three wolves, and also took the breath of all the wriggling ones affected by the paralyzing poison.

The three-day war with the wolves ended in victory for the young boys and girls.

****

"I'm here. What are you two talking about?"

"Just. I remember how we had a hard time with a few wolves at first."

"Oh, back then? It's been about four months already. Not just a few… There must have been at least thirty."

"Yeah. If it weren't for your paralyzing poison, it could have been dangerous."

"They were clever guys. Now, all they need is a knife."

"By the way, it looks like it's a wild boar today. Where did you catch it?"

"I saw a ten-fingered grass and went to check it out, and then I saw this guy's footprints."

"You caught it cleanly? It seems like your swordsmanship is getting better?"

"It's still a long way to go. Compared to you, Mi-ryeo."

"What are you talking about? It doesn't seem like there's much of a difference. Anyway, I wonder if this guy is doing well. Why doesn't he show his face even once?"

"Living well? Who are you talking about?"

"Who is he? Of course it's that guy. He doesn't even know that we're suffering like this. He went straight back to the main building from day one… Isn't that right, Yuri?"

"We'll take the test in two months. You said you'd let it slide even if I failed three times. I should probably get back to the top."

"… But I'm a little scared."

"what?"

"Even though we've become so strong, we still can't seem to pass the test. Of course, that guy passed the test on his first day here. So how strong was he then? And how strong is he now..?" Dang-myeong returned to Jangwon with Jegal Chang-sin and the Bongwi-dae warriors. A place where comfortable and pleasant lodging and abundant meals were provided at every meal.

'I almost got annoyed.'

The obvious answer was yes. The Bongwidae warriors had simply thrown a few knives to the remaining Chijo before returning to the manor. There was nothing else. They said that they could only ask for his martial arts skills after two weeks. In the meantime, they were to survive on their own.

Cliffs and caves.

It was obvious what kind of life the remaining seven tribes would have to live. They would have to find their own food, and they would be given appropriate trials.

Such hardships would certainly make the contestants, including Chiljo, grow stronger quickly, but for Dang-myeong, it was something he didn't need at all.

All the boy needed now was a good meal, a comfortable bed, and plenty of time.

"Then, I will go prepare a 'meal'."

"I know it must be a hassle, but thank you every time. Jegal Muin."

"No. All we have to do is move the ones we've already captured."

Zhuge Changxin and Tang Yuanjin exchanged incomprehensible conversations. Meals? Isn't that something that a steward should do? The seven sent by the Zhuge family to operate the formation were precious.

"If you need any manpower at any time, just let me know. Anyway… I think I'll have to go hunting often because of that guy No. 28."

"Okay, I'll ask you then."

Jegal Changsin slightly lowered his head and waved his sail as he walked away. Only then did the boy known as No. 28 realize what was happening.

'It looks like they're going to release a wild beast into the formation.'

It was a typical training method. Throw them into a barren place and let all sorts of animals loose to force them to survive. In order to get food, the contestants would have no choice but to clash with wild beasts.

The boy opened his mouth, feeling relieved that things had worked out this way.

"Then, I will tell you about wearing it right away."

"Right now?"

"Because there is no one who can be called a foreigner."

It was about Zhuge Changxin. From the boy's perspective, it didn't matter much if Zhuge Changxin heard about the secrets of wearing, but Tang Yuanjin nodded as if he understood. The teachings of martial arts were not easy to obtain in the first place. Even if Zhuge Changxin found out later, he would only regret it and not blame it.

"Also, I don't really like to drag things out."

Dang-myung added a word. I actually thought so. If it's something that has to be done anyway, there's no reason to put it off. It's not that difficult.

"… Your personality is refreshing. I see."

After telling them to wait a moment, Dang Won-jin called all the Bongwidae warriors who had scattered for a while after arriving at the yard. The move that Boy No. 28 had shown was definitely not ordinary. Everyone in the Bongwidae judged it to be worth listening to. I wanted to bring the Bongwidae members in charge of other groups, but that would make things too big. It was better to end it at the Seventh Group line.

After a while.

The Bongwidae warriors who had naturally moved to the training ground lined up facing each other, but they looked awkward as if the boy had become the instructor. It was as if the roles had been completely reversed.

Dang-myung started explaining without caring about such things.

"The principle of wearing is simple. Does anyone have a sword or shuriken…?"

Before he could finish speaking, the guardsmen began pulling out swords and daggers. Yuan Ming nodded to one of them and said.

"Try to attack me slowly. Don't throw it. Swing it like you're swinging a sword."

"i get it."

The Bongwidae warrior, who received a nod from Dang-myung's words, walked over and drew his sword as if he was really swinging it.

'This is miserable.'

The boy held his shuriken toward the approaching swordsman, thinking that he didn't seem to be very good at swordsmanship. Since he was only going to teach him how to wear the sword, his swordsmanship was still good.

"Keep going. Don't stop."

As soon as the sword and shuriken made contact, the guard warrior stopped moving.

"…I get it."

The Bongwidae warrior answered softly and then put strength into his hand holding the dagger again and aimed for Deoksangmyeong. The dagger pushed the boy's shuriken away and advanced.

Then, at one point, the Bongwidae warrior felt something strange. The blade was starting to deviate slightly from the intended path. It was still a small difference, but if he swung it all the way, it would deviate significantly from the originally targeted area.

'You've done something.'

With that thought in mind, the Bongwidae warrior used a little more force to return the sword to its original intended direction.

That was the moment.

"?!"

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The Bongwidae warrior lost his balance in an instant, and the sword he was swinging completely missed the boy, and the boy's shuriken was aimed at his chin. The Bongwidae warrior, with a blank expression, seemed unaware of what had happened.

The party leader and the other guards looked at the boy with slightly surprised eyes. The one who had just stepped forward was not one of the weakest in the guards. Even if he had approached it with a light heart, he was subdued by a child who was barely ten years old?

Dang-myung took back the shuriken and spoke without a trace of pride.

"This is the basics of posture. Rather than blocking or striking the opponent's strength head-on, accept it to some extent and wait for an opportunity."

"Is it any different from simply letting it flow?"

"You have to maintain contact. If the opponent approaches, you retreat. If the opponent retreats, you approach. In short, you have to make sure that the unity never ends. If things don't go your way, the opponent will use more force, and that's when your weakness is exposed."

"… … ."

After hearing the boy's explanation, Dang Won-jin was overcome by a strange feeling. The idea of using the opponent's swordsmanship felt like it was part of the ascending kendo.

'Maybe he has a talent for swordsmanship. Or maybe he has a connection to Elder S.'

Of course, the family was famous for poison and secret weapons, but there were swordsmen in the Tang family as well.

Elder Dang Ji-ryong.

He was a descendant of a famous swordsmanship family in Sacheon. He married a woman from the Tang family and took the Tang surname. He was a swordsman of such great skill that he rose to the position of elder with only swordsmanship.

However, since it was a rule to leave the identity of the contestant unanswered, the party members left their guesses to guesses. They would find out later anyway.

Boy number 28 continued speaking.

"That's the basics. If you use the true energy, you can implement the wearing a little more easily. It's like tying up things that you touch. If you reach the extreme, you can even gather hidden energy together like I showed you earlier."

"what…?"

Dang Won-jin asked back in disbelief. Did the boy in front of him really understand what he had just said?

'You mean the feeling of being tied to everything you touch?'

It was a kind of ideology.

Isn't it true that putting your inner energy and true energy into practice is something that can only be done when you reach the highest level?

It is said that when you enter the state of the highest ascension, also called the state of transformation, you can finally attach an intention to your energy. The energy that is attached to an intention is called strong energy, and that nothing can stop it unless it is strong energy.

It is truly the exclusive property of superhumans who have transcended the world of humanity.

However, I couldn't help but be surprised when the boy said that putting thoughts into a true spirit was a very simple technique. Some of the Bongwidae warriors also seemed to realize this fact and looked astonished. They were probably all thinking the same thing.

'Is this guy a genius?'

The party members were now feeling better. There were still some parts about the dress that they didn't quite understand, but they pushed them to the back of their minds. More than that, their hearts began to beat faster.

In the current martial arts world, there are no more than ten people who are said to have ascended to the rank of Hwagyeong. Two of them are Heuksaryeonju Yu Giljun and Magwangcheonju Yeon Junghyuk.

'If twenty years pass like this, no, maybe even fifteen years.'

Dang Won-jin was more hopeful than anyone else for the revival of the family. The enormous potential of Boy No. 28 came to him like a blessing from the Sacheon Dang family. His heart thumped.

And of course, Dang Won-jin did not assume at all that the boy had already reached Hwa-gyeong. Even if he had learned martial arts while still in his mother's womb, that would be impossible. As far as he knew, Hwa-gyeong was a supreme state that required tremendous enlightenment to reach. Even if it was a time-honored talent, it would not be possible in just ten years. It was normal to think that way.

Even if the boy could really put his mind to the truth, it was considered to be nothing more than a possibility.

Dang Won-jin quickly tried to calm his expression. The boy's talent was certainly amazing, but he didn't want to praise him too much. He might end up becoming overconfident.

'From today onwards, this guy is the treasure of the family. It doesn't matter whether it's a secret weapon, poison, or a sword. He will definitely grow up to be great.'

Tang Yuanjin vowed to give the boy the best possible comfort while he was training, without asking questions or inquiring. After witnessing his talent shining so brightly, he had long since abandoned any thought of treating the contestants fairly.

****

'Good. Not bad.'

After a satisfying meal, Dang Yuanming returned to his assigned room and thought. As soon as he finished his short lecture on dressing, Dang Yuanjin's attitude completely changed. He could feel that he had become very careful in his speech.

It was not without a guess. It had been so long since I had been aware of it in my previous life, but I realized it only after seeing the astonished faces of the Bongwidae warriors. Dealing with thoughts - that was the starting point for ascending to the level of martial arts. Since I spoke of it as if it were nothing, I guess in their eyes, I must have seen myself as a talent like no other in the world.

I thought it was right to refrain from showing off too much inaction, but when it actually came to this, it wasn't so bad. Building up my own strength to a certain degree was the most important priority, but it was equally important to promote the growth of my limbs. There was no other time like now.

But because of this incident, I no longer have to worry about eating or sleeping, and I am also no longer restricted in choosing martial arts or training.

It saved a lot of time. And the boy was confident that he could become stronger if he just had time.

'First, let's learn the eye method and the body method. Then, the senses.'

The obvious one is to prioritize it like that.

I put aside the martial arts for memorization, poison, and other attacks. If something were to happen tomorrow, I decided that the most useful ones would be the eye method and the divine method. If I could see and approach properly, it wouldn't matter who the opponent was.

Although his only means of attack was shuriken, it would be impossible to avoid the boy's sword strike that had reached the realm of the swordsman.

The boy who made the plan told the party members right away and received several secrets of the party's household and new laws. They were not originals. They were handwritten for this competition. Naturally, the key points were not written down.

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The boy studied the secrets several times. It was a process of selecting the ones that he could learn. If there were none that he could learn, he planned to use the martial arts he had learned in his previous life as a substitute.

So the first martial arts book that Dang-myeong chose was… ..

Shiryuan (視流眼)⎯ It was an old household appliance eye prescription book of the Tang family. The importance of eye training cannot be overemphasized.

No matter how excellent your evasion skills are, if you don't recognize your opponent's attack, that's the end of it.

Through the senses, they eliminate blind spots with heightened senses, and through the eyes, they accurately face attacks with heightened vision. This is why sending assassins or assassins is meaningless for masters who have reached the highest level.

To kill such a master, you had to either gain his trust enough to make him completely let his guard down, or confront him head-on and crush him with the power of his martial arts.

Shiryu-an (視流眼) was an old family eye technique, but not many people had mastered it. It was extremely difficult to master, and over the long years, some parts were lost. In particular, because the path to mastering true energy was not explained clearly, those who had mastered Shiryu-an were not able to see the proper effects of the eye technique. On the contrary, they often experienced a phenomenon where something like a hazy fog interfered with their vision.

Most Tang people have continuously changed and learned the complete path of the True Taoist, such as the Tucheonan (透天眼). Those who have learned the Shiryuan with the hope of some unknown future eventually reach their limit and learn other eye methods, which is the current reality.

The Two Thousand Eyes was clearly an excellent technique. As the achievements deepened, it had the utility of allowing one to see things moving very slowly. It was suitable for the martial arts masters who dealt with the art of memorization. However, this alone was not as good as the technique the boy had learned in his previous life.

Paejeongan (敗停眼), the eye technique that the boy had learned in his previous life based on the Paeryukjinki, not only strengthened his vision, but was also an ascending martial art that allowed him to exercise actual power simply by making up his mind and looking straight ahead. If he didn't have a certain amount of experience, he could stop even a swinging sword or a flying dark weapon just by looking at it.

Of course, now that he was learning the Dokyocheong Gwangsim method, it was questionable whether he would be able to properly benefit from learning the Paejeongan. This was because the effectiveness of martial arts varied greatly depending on the underlying true energy.

But fortunately, there was a method that caught the eye of Dangunmyeong, and that was Shiryuan.

'It is clear that he is a rising star.'

I could tell the name as soon as I read it. It was said to be the oldest method of the family, and its depth was extraordinary. The others felt like a deteriorated version of this Shiryuan.

The fact that the path of the True Ki Master was slightly off wasn't a big deal to the boy. What was important was the mental image that encompassed the entire martial arts, which corresponded to the core essence. If the mental image was clear, it wasn't impossible for the boy who had reached the realm of the Sword God to restore the True Ki Master's method according to it.

Shiryu (視流)⎯ It meant to see the flow. It was clearly stated in the secret book. If you completely master the Shiryu, you will be able to skillfully handle all the secrets.

'I'm not exaggerating.'

The boy thought. There was a part of him that could guess what the 'flow' in the secret was. If he could use the eye method to become in a state where he could always see that 'flow', the achievement of memorization and martial arts mentioned in the secret would deepen immensely. And in one breath.

It was a situation where he had already decided to live as a member of the Tang family. The boy intuitively felt that it would be difficult to live an ordinary life if he were to hold a sword again. If he could become stronger through secret power and poison, there was no reason to refuse.

From that day on, Dang-myeong began to see the flow of time.

Locked in my room, I spent most of the day meditating, except for sleeping and eating.

More than two weeks passed like that.

Although some of the guards expressed concern, the party leader left the 28th boy alone. This was because he had already confirmed his extraordinary qualities. He had also promised not to interfere. He thought he had something in mind.

A few more days passed after that.

Finally, Dang-myung opened the door and came out.

"It's out. Number 28."

The party members who happened to meet him greeted the boy. There was a hint of anticipation in their eyes.

"Did you get any income? I thought you were going to do some kind of perfect wall training with the emergency supplies. It's so hard to even see your face."

"Yes. I have been introduced to one of the home appliance methods."

"Yes. I brought the secrets of Anbeop and Shinbeop. Which eye method did you choose? The Two-Cheon-An is the safest, but the others aren't bad choices either. They each have their pros and cons. As long as it's not an imperfect Shiryu-An… ."

"I have mastered the flow of time."

"…what?"

The boy's words made Dang Won-jin ask with a bewildered expression. Shiryu-an? Are you saying that even the path of the true master was flawed? Why bother with that?

"Can I borrow a few of your secret weapons? Any will do."

"… here it is."

Without asking the reason, Dang Won-jin took out four small medals from his bosom and handed them to the boy. It seemed that he was trying to confirm something.

"thank you."

The boy accepted it with a greeting, then held the tip of the citation and looked somewhere. Towards the training ground. There were several wooden dolls standing there. Wooden dolls were used for various purposes, but they were mainly used to practice throwing techniques.

To Dang Won-jin, the boy seemed to be estimating the distance to the wooden doll. The distance was about thirty jang (approximately 100m). Was he trying to hit it with a spear?

'Are you trying to apply the achievement of the eye method directly to the throwing technique?'

Dang Won-jin nodded slightly and watched the boy. For ordinary martial artists, eye techniques were simply a means to dodge attacks better and find the opponent's weak points, but for those who had learned the art of memorization, it had a slightly different meaning.

As your mastery of the Anbeop deepens, your ability to handle the secret weapon also improves. It was natural that you would be able to see exactly how the secret weapon would fly when you threw it with what force and in what direction.

It was a bit strange that he entered the Shiryu Martial Arts when he had other good ones, but in any case, seeing that he started to search for secrets as soon as he entered the Martial Arts, it seemed that the boy was also a member of the Tang family.

'But it'll be hard to hit the mark. It looks like you've never properly memorized anything before.'

The party leader immediately realized that this was the boy's first time handling a spear. From the very beginning, the way he held the blade was sloppy. It was difficult to even throw it in a straight line like that. Thirty shots is not a short distance. Even if he aimed properly and threw it, all sorts of variables were bound to come into play. It was not uncommon for the wind and the blade of the spear to change course as it rotated.

Whether he knew the thoughts of the party members or not, Boy No. 28 roughly threw the halberds. His hand movements were so fast that it was hard to follow them with the eyes, and in an instant that could almost be considered simultaneous, four halberds flew into the air.

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Shushu shushuk⎯

The spears do not fly in a straight line, but rather each fly in a different direction.

"no…!"

The party members couldn't help but let out a gasp of surprise. The spears that had been flying in a completely different direction suddenly made a sharp turn and struck the wooden doll's head with a bang.

It was a skill that could not be easily imitated without learning a very famous throwing technique and using a familiar hidden weapon.

"How on earth…?"

"It just seemed like it would work."

The green light flashed and disappeared from the boy's eyes as he answered roughly. Although Dang Won-jin didn't notice it, it was a trace of the Shi Ryu-an that had reached Daesung.

'It works.'

The boy, Dang-myung, felt satisfied as he recalled the scene from just a moment ago.

Shiryu-an allowed those who practiced it to see the 'flow' of the world. The 'flow' referred to here was, in fact, something that the practitioner could imagine. It could simply mean the movement of air like the wind, or it could mean the energy (氣) that exists in all things in heaven and earth.

It was the practitioner himself who set the limits of his achievements.

The scope of achievement of ascending Muhak was originally this wide. It was not the Muhak of enlightenment.

Anyway.

So what was the 'flow' that the boy who was a swordsman thought of?

In meditation that lasted over a fortnight, the things that Dharma Name had concretized as 'flow' were the sword paths that he had realized himself. The thousands and tens of thousands of fighting paths that could be extended to the range of vision without being bound by the iron object called the sword, the means, or the limitations of distance.

He assumed them as a 'flow' that he himself would see through the current in the future.

Since he was a boy who had already reached the realm of the swordsman, those currents were already very clear. It was natural for him to reorganize his path of energy and reach the Great Star at the same time as his initiation. Also, perhaps because it was a household martial art? Based on the Dokyocheong Gwangsim method and Dokyocheong Gwanggi that had already reached the Great Star, a new function was added to the current.

Not only can you see the flow, you can even energize the flow.

What Deungmyung was testing was whether he could move the hidden weapon in the direction shown by the current. It seemed like he was just throwing it randomly, but the spear loaded with the Dokyo Request Light moved in the direction of the swordsman, and definitely hit the target.

This meant that, within the range of the enhanced field of vision, one could hit the target with a hidden weapon without having to rely on throwing techniques or anything like that.

The key was the experience and speed that could be recorded in the memorization, but this was a problem that would be solved anyway as the internal energy deepened.

'Is this the new law?'

Although he had perfected the mind and eyes, he still felt thirsty. This was because he had not yet reached the minimum level of strength he had set for himself. He had no intention of resting.

"then."

The boy bowed his head slightly to the party members and went back into the room. It seemed like he was planning to stay out of the house for a while.

"haha…."

Only the hollow laughter of the remaining party members could be heard low in the garden.

****

Several fortnights passed.

Dang-myeong had been learning the Dang family's secret technique, the Dark Shadow, and the light technique, Chu-wol-gwang-haeng. In the case of the secret technique, the Dark Shadow, he pursued extremely secretive movements, and was much quieter than those of most assassin schools. It was as if the Dang family's ancestors were some of the best assassins in the world, or their descendants.

As the name suggests, Chuwolgwanghaeng was a fast-paced light-hearted technique that chased the moonlight. Since martial arts of the same type, such as Shinbeop or Kyunggong, showed their characteristics much better than others, I decided to learn them as they were. Of course, when the time comes, I will take out the martial arts from my previous life.

Lastly, I learned the way of sense perception, and chose the area called the snake silk net area because it went well with the Dokyocheong Gwanggi.

Of course, you could sense everything around you without having to learn the senses separately, simply by raising your senses, but it wasn't very efficient.

The means to sense a wider area with less internal energy consumption is the sense map.

In the case of the main attack, it was possible to expand the area of the sense of qi as if it were a multi-layered spider web, and by drawing out the thread of the poisonous request madness that acts as the spider web infinitely thinly, it was possible to maximize the efficiency. The consumption of internal energy was reduced to the point where it was possible to constantly raise the sense of qi.

Dang-myung quickly raised everything he had learned to the realm of greatness.

Since he was a Manryu Guijong (萬流歸宗), it wasn't that difficult since he already had experience in reaching the realm of the swordsman.

After perfecting his martial arts skills to a certain extent, the boy began to seriously study poison and secret techniques. These are the secret weapons used in our home."

At the boy's request to learn memorization, Dang Won-jin began to explain with a cheerful face. Up until now, she had been acting more like a maid or errand boy than an instructor. She thought that she could finally teach him properly.

In front of the party members and the boy, there were a lot of various types of hidden weapons. It seemed like there were hundreds of them.

Was this really the family that was called the master of poison and secret weapons? The secret weapons used by the family were truly diverse. Even just the spear itself had many forms. From simple ones with four blades attached evenly, to ones with curved blades, to ones with a few holes drilled into the blades that resembled discs so that fingers could be inserted, there were also ones with five, six, eight, and even twelve blades.

The shapes of the swords and shurikens were also varied. Many had holes drilled into the blades or had fine engravings or reliefs. When the boy seemed interested in the swords, Dang Won-jin said,

"This is why there was a hole."

Dang Won-jin picked up two knives with holes of different shapes and threw them one by one.

Beep beep beep⎯

The first stray bullet flew out with a sharp sound that seemed to rip through your ears. It was too much to call it a simple blast of air. It must have been the sound of air passing through a strangely shaped hole.

And the second rain.

Swish, bang.

It was quite fast, but there was only a faint sound when it was thrown. Then, only the sound of it hitting the wooden doll was heard. This was also probably the effect of the hole in the dagger. However, the characteristics of the two daggers were completely opposite.

"It's called a chaotic flying sword. The two swords are like one body, but once you get used to it, even if you throw them at the same time, they will reach their target with a slight delay. The noisy one goes first."

"It's to induce carelessness."

"… You noticed right away. That's right. The one that flies in first attracts attention with its loud noise. Even if you can knock it away or block it, the one that comes in quietly right after is surprisingly hard to block."

It was a natural thing. The first raindrop was already distracting due to the noise, and the raindrops that followed were armed with a stealth that killed even the sound.

It would have been difficult to deal with unless one had a fairly developed sense of smell.

But the boy soon lost interest.

The same was true of the engraved and relief-shaped arrows. They would suddenly speed up or slow down in mid-flight, and sometimes hit completely different places than where they were aimed. They were secret weapons that emphasized unexpectedness.

'That's shallow talk.'

It will never work on those who have properly mastered the senses. Just disrupting their vision or hearing is not enough to effectively attack the experts. Wouldn't it be better to have a normal sword with a proper history?

Although the party members didn't know it, the boy's standards were far too high. Those who didn't know how to properly hone their skills had no use for the large number of them. There was no need to use a complicated secret weapon. If they just threw it in the direction that seemed to be in the flow, no one would be able to dodge it.

"These are just ordinary shurikens, but…."

As he said this, Dang Won-jin ran his palm over the shuriken, and before he knew it, there were five daggers, one on each finger of his right hand. There was a round ring-like thing at the end of the shuriken's handle, and he had put one finger joint into it.

What happened next was amazing. When Tang Yuanjin slightly opened and closed his fingers, the shurikens shot out forward at the same time.

Then, at some point, it stopped and trembled, then, as if by a lie, it returned to the Dangwonjin's grasp. As if it was attached by an invisible thread.

"It's called Yeon-gi-ryun (連氣綸). The reason why the main family's secret weapon is small and light is of course for the sake of secrecy, but it is also to reduce the cost of production since most secret weapons are used once and thrown away. However, paradoxically, such efforts made the main family's secret weapon even more precious. It took a lot of effort to make it smaller and lighter. In the end, the answer was only one. Retrieve the secret weapon somehow. Yeon-gi-ryun is a martial art created for this reason."

It was as Dang Won-jin said. Unlike other sects that only needed a sword or a sword, the ones that dealt with secret martial arts consumed a huge amount of iron and money. Even the seemingly ordinary shurikens were made by the family's craftsmen, and if they were sold to the outside, they could receive one or two nyang of silver. Since they were thrown out and lost every time there was a battle, it must have been difficult to handle when the family was on the decline.

In particular, secret weapons such as the Nanmyeongbi were extremely difficult to make, rather than the cost of the materials used, so they were items that had to be recovered.

After hearing the explanation, Dang-myeong's eyes lit up. The idea of retrieving the secret energy that had been released had given him some inspiration. He thought that if he refined his skills well, he would have a high chance of becoming a martial artist of ascension.

'Extraction isn't the only attack. If you use the recovery time well...'

He organized the thoughts that immediately came to mind in one corner of his mind. The boy knew from experience that when flashes of imagination come together, they can become the starting point for new martial arts or enlightenment.

"However, there are some drawbacks to the Yeonki Wheel. First of all, it consumes too much internal energy."

It was a natural logic to the boy. It was the original way to try to use the true energy to do something to an alien object that had fallen from the body. The Yeonkiryun was just a thread made of true energy to connect the secret energy and the hand, but in a way, it was connected to the Eogumsul. It was bound to consume a lot of internal energy.

Dang Won-jin continued speaking.

"And if you go beyond a certain distance, the connection with the weapon is cut off. In my case, the limit is about 1 jang (3m). It is difficult to use in actual combat. Also, it is difficult to apply unless it is a weapon with a ring attached. As of now, there are almost no people who have mastered it."

"But why are you telling me…?"

"I think you, No. 28, might be able to find a different way."

Dang Won-jin smiled as he said that. He guessed that the boy might have learned the Shiryuan properly. He had seen the secret recipe that didn't even properly describe the key points or how to master the true energy.

Then, wouldn't it be possible to improve Yeon Ki-ryun as well? I thought that I would lose anyway and get what I wanted.

"I see. That was helpful."

The boy nodded and added that he wanted to learn the skill of the wheel. It was worth learning, in his opinion.

Dang Won-jin said he understood, put down his shuriken, and moved slightly to the side.

There was a pile of long, needle-like needles, each of slightly different lengths and thicknesses.

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"They are called fine needles, or ox-hair needles. Usually, the needle-like ones are called fine needles, and the slightly thicker ones are called ox-hair needles… but there is no need to distinguish between them. In any case, if you can demonstrate precise throwing skills, there is nothing better than this. In particular, if you can hit the bloodletting point in one go, you can kill your opponent immediately."

"It seems like it would be useful against the sewers. It doesn't look like it would be difficult to make."

"… That's right. It won't work on enemies with highly developed stamina, but it's very effective if you attack together or make a surprise attack."

Tang Yuanjin naturally spoke of combined attacks and surprise attacks. It was a talent that was not easily seen in other sects or martial arts. It was a method that was looked down upon even in the martial arts world⎯ Perhaps it was because he used poison and secret weapons.

The boy nodded lightly, since he didn't care about such superficial things anyway.

After hearing it for sure, I realized that the Umochim was an attractive weapon. In addition to the advantages that Dang Won-jin mentioned, it was small and light, so it seemed very convenient to carry around.

'It's okay.'

It would be difficult to carry a large number of bullets because it was so thin, but it seemed possible to increase its lethality by applying a deadly poison. Unlike ordinary weapons, it was in the form of a needle, so if it hit the skin, it would likely lead to immediate poisoning.

As he thought about the various ways to use the Umochim, the boy gradually fell into the world of secret techniques. It was a secret technique chosen to hide the swordsman's inaction, but he liked it more than he thought.

In any case, it might have been evidence that the boy's blood flowed through his body.

In addition, I saw several installed dark devices similar to butterfly bells or machines that slowly dispersed powdered poison, but I wasn't very interested in them because they were more of a type that supplemented the lack of poison techniques or dark techniques rather than having any performance as dark devices themselves.

During the whole day, the boy studied almost all of the Tang family's secret techniques and immediately began to practice.

****

Dawn, training ground.

In this garden stood a boy called Number 28.

The boy had his eyes downcast, and anyone with a keen eye could see a faint green glint in them.

The name was manifesting in Shiryu-an. Now, in his eyes, the world would appear as a collection of countless paths.

The target was obvious: a wooden doll for practicing throwing skills.

There were ten wooden dolls spaced evenly apart, but it was still unclear what the boy was after.

Suddenly.

Chorrrrrr⎯

Eight spears appeared in the air with a faint metallic sound. The boy scattered them with surprisingly fast hand movements. In the center of each spear was a round ring, but in a way, it looked like they weren't spears at all, but just a ring with several small blades attached to it.

While the javelin hovered in the air for a moment, the boy put the javelin rings on all of his fingers except his thumbs. As expected, his hands were quick.

That wasn't the end of it.

'Hwe (回: 돎).'

Internal energy, the secret of the return is placed in the poisonous request. It is placed directly on the finger. However, it is not emitted. It is simply held there.

Then, the spear began to spin around at high speed without leaving the boy's fingers. The shoo-a-a sound was quite threatening.

The boy didn't hesitate, but slightly bent and straightened his fingers. Then, the spinning spears flew out of his fingers and flew away.

If an ordinary person saw it, or even a martial artist with some level of martial arts prowess would have a hard time keeping up with it because of the incredible speed.

But the boy's senses, which had been enhanced by the injection of the sword, clearly recognized the movements of the spears without missing a single one. They were flying along a path that only the swordsman could see, just as the boy had intended.

The boy took out his lances from his bosom and scattered them, and it only took half a breath to get here.

It was a launch that happened in a split second.

And right after that.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

There was a sound of something being torn apart. Soon, the wooden doll 'Nine' for practice was cut here and there and fell down with a thud. It was truly a tremendous force. The wooden doll was made by layering several layers of black bamboo and boasted a strength that would not budge even after years of use, but how could it be torn to pieces so easily?

From the extraction of secrets to precise operation and loading of careers.

It was a sight that would have shocked anyone who had even a little knowledge of memorization. Even more, the person who had created this sight was a boy who looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old.

But perhaps it is not yet complete.

There was one wooden doll left.

But there was no sign of disappointment or regret in the boy's eyes. It was as if he had intended to do so from the beginning. He simply absentmindedly pulled his fingers back slightly.

Okay then.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Once again, with the usual chopping sound, the last remaining wooden doll was chopped into small pieces.

And the spears were back on the boy's fingers as if they had never flown away.

in the end.

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The secret martial arts that Geomshin created in his own way have been completed.

Huh⎯

With a thin exhalation.

A green light mysteriously scattered from the boy's eyes. Chilsae Hwan Gung Jin.

In the visionary formation of the Zhuge family, seven people became the center of the formation, each of whom controlled a world of formations. The seven worlds of formations formed were interlocked like cogs, and unless the time came or the formation itself was destroyed by force, it was impossible for anyone other than the seven who controlled the formation to move to another world of formations.

These characteristics led to the use of the Chilsae Hwan Gung Jin in the competition of the Dang family's small families. Although it is no longer called Se Ga, the Dang family was also a large family that had existed for a long time. It was easy for all sorts of people to be involved in the competition for the position of the next head of the family. Furthermore, there were many Sa-pa forces in Sacheon, so they sought to secure the fairness of the competition and the safety of the participants by borrowing the help of the Zhuge family.

Of course, Zhuge Liang sent the seven who would become the axis of the formation along with Chilsae Hwan Gung Jin, saying that he would repay the material favor he had received, but in fact, if you look inside, it was not all good intentions.

It would be like that. The seven who were dispatched were among the most knowledgeable in battle formations even among the Zhuge family. With the family's fortunes on the decline, would they simply risk a significant military vacuum to repay a favor?

It would be reasonable to assume that there was something going on.

****

A man was walking while holding a sash. Mysteriously, as he walked, the surrounding scenery was slightly distorted. This meant that he was moving while accurately seeing the changing life patterns of the formations. In fact, this was possible because he was the central figure of the formation Seven-Saw-Hwan-Gung-Jin.

He continued walking unperturbed even as the scenery changed several times, only stopping when the scenery changed for the eighth time.

"Everyone is here."

The man who took the throne, Jegal Changsin, said.

Before he knew it, he had arrived in a room where a large round table was placed. In front of the round table were six people. They were all members of the Zhuge family who had been dispatched to the Tang family's small-scale competition. When they saw Zhuge Changxin, they stood up and greeted him.

"Are you here? Jeonju."

"It's been a while."

"I'm glad you got it right."

Everyone spoke to him as if they were their elders. They were all of similar age, but among them, Zhuge Changxin held the highest position. Zhuge Changxin was the head of the Wuliang Hall of the Zhuge family. The Wuliang Hall was a hall where only those who were skilled in battle formations were gathered, and it goes without saying that the head of the hall, Zhuge Changxin, was very capable.

Zhuge Changxin nodded and accepted the greeting.

"It's been half a year, everyone. It seems like the mission is going smoothly."

"Yes, Jeonju."

The Seven-Seasoning Circle Formation was an elaborate formation. Even among the members of the Zhuge family, it was only possible for all seven members to meet at the same time on the same day once every six months. It seemed that today was the day.

However, there was something unusual in Zhuge Changxin's words.

He put the word 'mission' in his mouth.

Does that mean that the people of the Zhuge family were dispatched to the Tang family's small-scale competition not simply out of goodwill?

Zhuge Changxin winked at a man and said.

"Then, let's hear the report from the first team. Is there anyone we can recruit?"

"Yes. First of all, the one worth noting is No. 2. She has a terrible skin condition, as if she was poisoned by some terrible toxin, and she always has a burning hostility towards someone. Using those feelings as fuel, her skills are growing at an incredible rate… ."

The men came forward one by one and began to recite about the contestants in their respective groups. They mainly talked about who had what level of skill and how fast they were growing. As the managers of the Chilsae Hwan Gung Jin, they could hide in the formation and evaluate the contestants.

'Nos. 2 and 10 stand out. We should also keep an eye out for Nos. 18 and 22.'

Zhuge Changxin selected notable talents based on the stories he heard from the men. All seven groups that participated in the competition went through the same ordeals. They were thrown into cliffs and caves, and had to hunt wild beasts to secure food. They had to pass the test in order to return to the mainland where they were guaranteed a comfortable place to sleep.

It was clearly a harsh environment for boys and girls who were only twelve to sixteen years old. In fact, there were several participants who were bitten to death by wild beasts. They died in vain without being able to fully show their talents, but it was not meaningless. The members of the group with the dead participant felt a sense of crisis and their skills improved very quickly.

Numbers 2 and 10 were the ones who passed the exam in just one month and returned as top candidates. Numbers 18 and 22 took a little longer, but they passed the exam much faster than the other contestants.

But why does the Zhuge family track the contestants in such detail?

'No. 2 would be good to work with. You said he has an ugly appearance. I guess I can connect him with Baekseon. He's also a girl.'

Zhuge Changxin thought of a tall and handsome nephew. Zhuge Baekseon was born with a handsome face that made him seem like he was the reincarnation of Song Ok, but his talent for martial arts and tactics was average. If he could use him, wouldn't it be easy to shake the young girl's guard?

In fact, the Zhuge family was in a much worse state than was known. Although they had help from the Tang family, it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit, like urinating on someone's feet. However, the Tang family, who were also in decline, were in no position to provide more help than they were now.

At a time when even the survival of the family was at stake, there was a reason why the Zhuge family sent seven people, including Zhuge Changxin, to compete for the minor positions of the Tang family, even at the risk of creating a military vacuum.

Eating the whole thing right away…!

In the Jegal family, there were many people who were extraordinary in their minds, if not in anything else. The significance of this Sogaju competition to the Tang family had long been understood. The silent discord between the vested interests including the Elders and the young warriors, the power struggle among the elders, legitimacy…

The winner of the Sogaju competition becomes the next owner of the Tangga.

What Zhuge Family was after was the talent that would become the winner of the Sogaju competition. To be exact, it would be a boy or girl who showed the 'potential' of becoming the winner.

Since the competition takes place within the realm of the Seven-Story Ring, Zhuge Liang was able to make that possibility a reality. Wouldn't they be able to make a deal that would be mutually beneficial?

First, select a suitable person and help him win the competition, and in return, have him marry someone from the Zhuge family. If he marries and has a child, that child will be the rightful heir to the Tang family no matter what anyone says. And from then on, the Zhuge family plans to act as the child's maternal relatives. They plan to increase their voice in the Tang family, gain various interests, and gradually swallow up the Tang family.

'In the future, the party and the family will be combined.'

If the Zhuge family, the masters of formations and organ formations, and the Tang family, the masters of poison and secret weapons, were to completely merge, they could rise to become a new powerful family - that was the consensus among the Zhuge family leaders. They believed that the families would be a good match.

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Of course, in order to make such a plan successful, it was most important to select talented individuals who showed potential at this early stage.

'I don't think there's a contestant as extraordinary as number 28…'

Zhuge Changxin thought of the boy who stood out in the seven groups he was in charge of. Those who were in charge of other groups now would never have imagined it. Surely there would be a contestant who passed the test in one day and returned as the top contestant? When he showed off his skill called Zhuge Changxin was quite surprised. It was a skill that only famous swordsmen would have seen.

I remember feeling quite sad when I learned that Boy No. 28's lecture on clothing had ended while he was away for a moment.

Originally, the most outstanding contestants should have been excluded from their plans. There was no reason to accept Zhuge's proposal. The ones Zhuge should have considered were the second or third best contestants. Those who desperately needed Zhuge's help to win the competition.

However, the shining qualities of Boy No. 28 made Zhuge Changsin worry. It was clear that he had skills that were overwhelmingly superior to those of No. 2 or No. 10. Now, it seemed that even Bongwidae warrior Dang Wonjin was paying attention to No. 28. It was to the point where it seemed like he was considering him as a half-successor.

If he really has such outstanding qualities, wouldn't it be better to make Boy 28 the head of the household? Although he can't afford to pay a huge debt.

After much thought, Zhuge Changxin made a decision to kill two birds with one stone.

'First, we'll exclude No. 28 from the target. We'll help No. 2, No. 10, or both, win the competition. No matter how great they are, they're still just children, so we'll get what we want.'

Zhuge Changsin had several means to help No. 2 or No. 10. He could help them by privately operating their formations in the final stage of the competition, the survival competition, or he could increase their internal energy with the secret elixir of Zhuge's family. If such help was added, No. 2 or No. 10, who were 'slightly' inferior to No. 28, might be able to win the competition.

'No, I will definitely win.'

After that, the 28th person who didn't win the competition was recruited into the Jegal family. I don't know the exact blood relationship, but if he's from a minor collateral line, it wouldn't be a bad idea to just adopt him. Judging from the fact that he participated in the competition, he must have some kind of ambition, so if you offer him the position of the Jegal family's minor head as bait, he'll probably bite.

'… That's a good plan.'

The position of the head of the Tang family is occupied by someone who is related to the Zhuge family, and the best talent of the Tang family, who should have won the competition, is taken over by the Zhuge family…!

It seemed possible that Boy No. 28 could be used to create another controversy over the position of the next head of the family. This could be a means of controlling the small family.

In many ways, it couldn't be anything but a great plan. Thinking so, Zhuge Changxin let out a satisfied smile. Soon, a swoosh spread out and covered his lips, which were drawn in a curved line.

****

Phew-

The boy throws a handful of needles and thread into the air.

Is it because of the career? The feathers that rise to heights that would normally not be possible due to wind or anything like that.

The needles were so thin that even people with good eyesight had a hard time identifying them, but when they were thrown into the air like this, it was even harder to find them. Of course, the boy recognized each one of them with his overwhelming sense of aura.

'Fall.'

He muttered quietly to himself and quickly grabbed his right hand that had been scattered in the air. Raindrops began to fall from the air. Raindrops rained down on the ground, scattering.

It was a new secret martial art of Dang-Myeong named U-Mo-Chim-U (牛毛針雨). Yeon-Ki-Ryun, who learned it from Dang-Won-Jin, played a big role in the boy's creation of the secret martial art. Since he could connect the secret energy with the thread of energy and manipulate it as he wanted, various movements were possible.

The first secret martial arts I made was called Hoeseon Nanmu Pyo (回旋亂舞鏢), but since my internal energy was still low, it was difficult to use it multiple times, so I made Umo Chim Woo. Hoeseon Nanmu Pyo would be much more powerful against a single opponent, but Umo Chim Woo was better against an unspecified number of people.

Unless you have an opponent with the ability to dodge rain, you won't be able to completely avoid the Umochimwoo. The problem is the lethality… .

Dang-myung decided it was time to learn about poison.

Not only does it further increase the killing power of the memorized martial arts, but it also increases internal energy.

Because the poisonous madness he possessed was an energy that grew by feeding on poison. Wonjin."

"Ah. You're here. You've worked hard. How are the guys? I heard that No. 25 is very talented in the Five Stars and No. 26 is talented in the Flying Sword. No. 27 is also said to be skilled in the Dragon Poisoning technique and also in the making of poison."

"That's right. That's correct."

The Bongwidae warrior who had called him nodded at Dang Won-jin's words. Dang Won-jin was mainly in charge of Boy No. 28, so the Bongwidae warriors, excluding Dang Won-jin, took turns in taking charge of the other 7th group members.

The Bongwidae warriors visited the cliff caves of Nos. 25, 26, and 27 once every ten days, checking on their survival and giving them martial arts tips or short lessons appropriate to their level. The trials involving wild beasts were actually threatening only at the beginning, but if they could somehow endure, the participants would quickly become stronger, so there was a part where they decided to push through forcibly.

As expected, the boys and girls who had been threatened by wild beasts longed for a means to become stronger in order to survive more than ever, and they quickly assimilated the secrets and teachings that were thrown at them.

In particular, Group 7 was in worse conditions than the other groups. Originally, the ordeal that should have been endured by four people ended up with only three people because the commander left on the same day. To be honest, the guards who were in charge of the bridgehead thought that they might all die before the first ten days. In fact, according to what I heard from Jegal Changsin, in other groups, even when the four were in good condition, they died one by one.

That's why the guards of the bridgeheads highly regarded No. 25, No. 26, and No. 27. They were only less brilliant than No. 28, but they were also outstanding talents. You could tell just by looking at the speed at which they were getting stronger.

'But I guess that's also part of No. 28's influence.'

The Bongwidae warrior who had taught them directly could tell. The boys and girls of Group 7 were secretly aiming for Boy No. 28. Was it because they were the same age? It seemed that they considered the boy, who had already reached a very high level, as someone they could catch up with. The desire for improvement that came from that was rapidly improving the skills of the members of Group 7.

The Bongwidae warrior shook off his thoughts and spoke.

"They said they were going to take the test this time."

"Oh. Finally?"

"They've become close friends over the years. Judging from the fact that they said they'd take the test on the same day and at the same time, I guess they're all confident they'll pass."

"I guess it's a little late."

"I guess it can't be helped. They'll think that the level of the test is similar to that of No. 28."

The Bongwidae warrior let out a laugh. Although the development of the sense of stamina was essential to pass the test, the cliff trial using wild beasts had several goals. It was to instill a sense of alertness that this competition was no joke, to provide an opportunity to check each other's skills and be stimulated, and to gain practical experience even though it was not a one-on-one battle.

Although the participants were rivals fighting over the position of the head of the household, they were also meant to form a certain level of bond as they were all members of the same family in the long run.

Secondarily, living in a cave high up on a cliff would naturally develop physical abilities such as brute force. This could also deepen the attainment of divine law.

Anyway, Group 7 has been improving their skills quickly.

In just over a month, the Bongwidae warriors had already developed enough skill to pass the test. All of the 7th Division members.

But no one from Group 7 showed any intention of taking the test. Even after half a year had passed.

There was a 'minor' misunderstanding here.

When the first 28th, Dang-myung, took the test to return to Jang-won, the Bong-wi-dae warriors greatly increased the difficulty of the test because they were annoyed by the boy. The original level of the test was not that high. In any case, Dang-myung passed the test without much difficulty, and the other 7th group boys and girls completely misunderstood the level of the test.

Of course, the Bongwidae warriors noticed this fact, but they did not mention it. It was a mistake, but the 7th corps had a considerable desire to improve, and they judged that if it was beneficial to themselves and their party, it would not be harmful.

And now, half a year later, the remaining 7 people are saying they will take the test.

Maybe the power will pass easily and you will feel empty.

It was a Bongwidae warrior who couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the guys who would feel wronged.

"Then, without further ado, let's take the test tomorrow. I will tell Zhuge Liang."

"Okay, Wonjin."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing their faces."

Dang Won-jin also let out a similar laugh to the man he had met. It was because he had a gut feeling that he would be able to experience the fun of being a bridgehead that he could not experience from No. 28.

****

"The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it becomes. Was that just a test? Then why did we go through all that suffering and live in caves?

At the very back of the procession following Jegal Changsin was a pale girl who was muttering. She was Dang Mi-ryeo, known here as Girl 26.

"Isn't that right, Yuri? Why did we skin an animal instead of washing ourselves properly in the night dew? It was a test to return to the estate. Of course, it was because we didn't have the confidence to pass the test he took."

"… … ."

"But what is this? What kind of test is this? You saw it before? Catching rain with one hand. That's all they were asking for…? Am I the only one who feels like they got tricked?"

"… You wouldn't have told us on purpose, would you? Even though you knew we were mistaken."

25, Dang Yuri answered, biting her lip slightly. Dang Yuri thought back to the past few months. She had barely survived the first wolf attack, and after that, she had tried to become stronger by reading and reflecting on the secrets and teachings that were thrown at her one by one. She had been working on the skins of animals with her hands covered in blood, sleeping on the cold stone floor, and doing odd jobs, even though her palms were covered in calluses.

Of course, in the process, I became close with Dang Mi-ryeo and Dang Yi-jeon through joys and sorrows, and my martial arts achievements deepened beyond belief, but I couldn't help but feel that I was being treated unfairly. I had suffered for several more months without having to do so.

However, Dang Yuri did not openly express her dissatisfaction like Dang Miryeo. In fact, it was partly Dang Yuri's own fault that the exam was delayed.

Among the three, the one with the weakest skills was Dang Yuri.

Dang Mi-ryeo and Dang Yi-jeon had already developed enough skills to take the test a month ago. However, out of loyalty, they waited until Dang Yu-ri had developed his skills. If Dang Yu-ri was left alone in the cliff cave, it was obvious that the conditions would be harsher than when there were three of them.

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"Before the party. Why are you quiet? Aren't you angry? I told you I've been suffering for months without having to do it."

"… I don't think it was bad. Learning the magic properly from you, Mi-Ryeo, was a great gain. I even made and used completely new poisons myself. My poison technique has also improved a lot… Above all, I consider it a luxury to be able to spend time with pretty girls like you and be close to you."

"Hmm. Really…?"

It was Dang Mi-ryeo who seemed to have softened a little after hearing the previous remark.

While they were talking like that, the scenery changed again at Zhuge Changxin's gesture, and a small manor came into view.

They had finally arrived at a place where they could have the comfortable beds and proper meals they had been longing for.

****

'Half a year, huh?'

Yu Myeong-myeong felt the change in the formation surrounding the outside of the garden with his senses. Thanks to the senses of the main character, things that happened around the garden were now engraved in his mind without him having to be conscious of it. He was always sharpening his senses like a blade. Now, he had entered a realm that anyone could call him a master. Of course, no one knew that Yu Myeong-myeong had reached that level.

In addition to the Bongwidae warriors including Jegal Changsin, there were three more new signs. I could tell who they were without even having to say anything. They must be the Seventh Division who passed the test.

'Thank goodness everyone is alive… I see.'

The boy who had thought that way was soon slightly surprised, having heard from the party members that there were dead participants in some groups. Was he worried about the well-being of others now? He felt unfamiliar with himself. Weren't Tang Yi-jeon, Tang Yu-ri, and Tang Mi-ryeo just peers who had traveled together to this point?

Dang-myeong fully anticipated that the remaining 7 groups would have a more difficult ordeal if he left. So it wasn't a sense of relief that came from guilt or something. If he went back in time, he would have made the same decision.

A second chance at life.

Because in order to live an ordinary life without being swayed by anyone, I prioritized acquiring the 'minimum amount of strength' above all else.

'…Is this also an ordinary feeling?'

In the end, Yu Myeong-myeong decided not to ignore this strange feeling and to accept it. He had a family, and someone he could call his mother. Bongwi-dae and the 7th dynasty could also be said to be people who were connected by small connections.

The situation is different in many ways from my previous life, when I only knew my master. Relationships with others have become a very difficult task. How should I treat them?

'It's difficult.'

The boy felt the need to redefine the category of ordinary life. It was not enough to simply live a peaceful life, protecting only his mother, Dokbong Dangjihye. If he won the competition and became the head of the household, and thus took the Bongwidae under his wing, and made friends with the boys and girls of the seven groups…

At that time, wouldn't the number of things to protect increase several times?

Even though a short period of time has passed, there are already many people who have become entangled in one way or another. There will be many more things to come in the future, and some of them could potentially become valuable people like Dang Ji-hye.

'There's no need to come to a conclusion now.'

The boy quickly gave up on his thoughts. If you get entangled, it would be an ordinary life to live as you are. He had no intention of avoiding or ignoring the entanglement.

A life of creating precious things like others in the midst of entanglement, and also protecting precious things - that was the ordinary life the boy thought of.

The boy, who had made up his mind like that, got up from his seat and went out to greet the faces he hadn't seen in a long time.

It was an afternoon when the sunlight that had fallen just in time warmly embraced the boy's face.