-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Butterfly Effect
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"That's it for the counter-strategy. Time is short, so we'll practice once more with Ha Gyeong's team, then head down the mountain."
*Shing.*
It seemed Maeng Ak would be participating directly in this practice, as he drew his sword.
*Gulp.*
There was no one here who didn't know of Maeng Ak's strength.
After all, every one of them had experienced being pushed to the brink of death by him.
Well, thanks to that, they had also consumed the precious inner core of a spirit beast, something they might never have seen in their entire lives.
Recalling that memory, they felt both gratitude and fear toward their lord, Maeng Ak.
For him to so easily give them something so precious…
…meant either his own internal energy was so vast he didn't need such elixirs, or he had already consumed so many that they no longer had any effect on him.
Of course, thinking this didn't diminish their gratitude.
Even if both reasons were true, there wasn't another lord in the entire martial world who would give something so valuable to mere students from minor gates.
"I said we're short on time. What are you all doing?"
Maeng Ak chided the team members, who were swallowing nervously and breaking out in a cold sweat.
Ha Gyeong's team was hesitant to move, having to face Maeng Ak again.
And Maeng Ak's own team members were not much different.
Until now, they had only deployed the Mystic Demon Formation with four people. The sudden addition of a fifth member gave them pause.
Maeng Ak was not one to miss such an odd atmosphere.
He addressed his team and Ha Gyeong's team in turn.
"As if I couldn't adapt to your flow. Don't worry, just do what you've been doing. And as for you, I'll hold back as much as I can, so don't be scared."
If Maeng Ak went all out, it wouldn't be practice in the first place.
The team members, who had momentarily forgotten this obvious fact due to the fear etched into their bodies, replied.
"Yes, my lord!"
Seeing the life return to their eyes, it seemed they had finally come to their senses.
The practice began with Maeng Ak making the first move.
*Thump!*
Right from the start, Ha Gyeong stomped the ground, sending a shockwave to halt Maeng Ak's movement.
It was a very clever move.
His opponent was using the Mystic Demon Formation, where the leader's movement is paramount.
However, it wasn't so fragile as to be broken by that alone.
Having decided not to use his full strength, Maeng Ak retreated to dodge the shockwave, but Chang On, on his right, immediately thrust his spear.
*Swish!*
As the sharp spearhead fiercely pierced the air, the air itself seemed to burst.
Ha Gyeong recoiled at the threatening attack, stepping back in alarm.
But that didn't mean Maeng Ak's team had gained the upper hand.
Ha Gyeong's team also had numbers, and they had all grown stronger by consuming the inner cores.
A student with a sword rushed out from behind Ha Gyeong and deflected Chang On's spear.
Then, using the deflected force, he launched a counterattack against Chang On.
*Clang!*
However, the blade was blocked midway by an arrow shot by Gung So-so.
Even after that fierce exchange, Jo Gwang-uk and Do Gwang joined in, but no victor emerged.
Both sides were struggling to cope with the counter-strategy Maeng Ak had taught them.
This proved the effectiveness of Maeng Ak's counter-strategy.
Despite both using the Mystic Demon Formation, neither could leverage its intricacies.
Watching the tense battle, Maeng Ak smiled with satisfaction and raised his hand.
"Stop. This should be enough. We're really out of time now. Let's head to the training grounds."
At his words, the team members sheathed their weapons and followed Maeng Ak toward the training grounds.
Their weapons were put away, but their fighting spirit was still boiling.
Having grown stronger from the inner cores, they felt both a competitive drive and a sense of crisis toward one another.
Watching his team, Maeng Ak thought about his plan.
'Good, they're fired up, just as I expected. They won't be intimidated in the second test.'
He gazed at the training grounds visible far below the mountain, painting a picture in his mind.
This was possible because his vision had improved as his realm advanced to the early stage of the Transformation Realm.
Whatever picture he was painting, a smile formed on his lips.
* * *
The head instructor stood on the platform of the grand training grounds.
He scanned the teeming crowd of students and shouted.
"Quiet! It seems everyone is here, so we will begin the second test!"
At his roar, the training grounds, which had been boiling with noise, fell silent in an instant.
Thanks to this, the sound of nervous students swallowing could be heard.
And that sound was soon drowned out by the head instructor's continuing voice.
"In this test, half of the one hundred teams will be eliminated. However, the fifty surviving teams will earn the right to advance to the third test, the martial tournament. They will also receive a reward that will help them break through their walls."
Many students tensed up at his first words, but at the mention of a reward, all their expressions brightened.
Breaking a wall. For a martial artist, those were dream-like words, describing something that might never happen in a lifetime.
Usually, a wall was something a talented person broke through only after bone-grinding effort and a stroke of fortuitous luck.
If one never achieved it, they would be first-rate at best.
Achieve it once, and you reach the Peak. Twice, the Transcendent Peak. Three times, and you enter the realm of absolute masters, known as the Transformation Realm.
Higher realms existed, but for mere students like them, it was a distant story beyond their imagination.
But for the Cult to help them break such an insurmountable wall?
There wouldn't be many greater fortuitous encounters in the entire Central Plains.
They would surely receive top-tier martial arts, elixirs, teachings, and treasured swords.
Before long, the tension that had enveloped the training grounds was replaced by blazing determination and demonic energy.
The head instructor smirked, as if this was what he had wanted.
'Now they look like proper warriors of the Cult.'
"From now on, the called teams will come up to the platform and compete in joint formations. The instructors will judge fairly, so do not worry."
"Sir!"
"Then, Team 1 and Team 100, step forward."
With the head instructor's call, the second test, the joint formation battle, officially began.
Team 1 and Team 100, who stepped forward first, seemed a bit frozen, perhaps because they were called first.
Team 100 looked especially so; they were students from minor gates whom Jo Gwang-uk hadn't managed to bring to Maeng Ak.
Because of this, they hadn't obtained the joint formation manual and seemed unable to use the Mystic Demon Formation.
Far from a proper formation, they were scattered, each taking their own stance.
Team 1, in contrast, consisted of students under the Sword Heavenly Pillar Gate and had perfectly prepared the Mystic Demon Formation.
And.
"Stop! Team 100 is unable to fight! Team 1 wins!"
The result, unsurprisingly, was a crushing victory for Team 1.
The leader of Team 1 was one of Geom Cheon-ha's subordinates and displayed quite decent swordsmanship.
Led by him, Team 1 moved as one to the right, exploiting openings, and Team 100 was picked off one by one.
Watching this from the waiting area, Maeng Ak nodded.
"Just as I thought. Those filthy leaders rigged it."
Just as he said, Team 100's skills were not significantly inferior to Team 1's; they had suffered an overwhelming defeat simply due to the unfair nature of the test.
The atmosphere in the training grounds naturally shifted toward the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon.
Eum Cheon-myeong and Hwan Cheon-hwa didn't show it, but they were uncomfortable with this atmosphere, while the other three exchanged words, saying things were finally going as they should.
As time passed, the already few students from minor gates were all eliminated.
All except for Maeng Ak's and Ha Gyeong's teams.
The students, backed by the Five Heavenly Pillar Gates, looked down on the only remaining teams, Maeng Ak's and Ha Gyeong's.
"Once those two teams are gone, things will be clean."
"I know, right? We'll finally be free of that disgusting, filthy smell."
"Hahaha! Yeah. Those lowly bastards always have that dirty stench. Well, it feels good just thinking about being free from that smell."
Most of them had already passed—the ones who could learn the Mystic Demon Formation because they received the manual from their own gates or backers.
The ill-tempered Jo Gwang-uk, Do Gwang, and Ha Gyeong gritted their teeth at the comments.
However, since their lord, Maeng Ak, remained still, they didn't dare make a move.
It was then.
"Team 39. Step forward."
At last, it was Maeng Ak's team's turn. They had been called even before Ha Gyeong's team.
Not only Ha Gyeong and his team, but everyone in the training grounds focused their attention on Maeng Ak's team.
The one man who had shattered the wall of the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon since the first test, personally embodying the principle of survival of the fittest.
Because Maeng Ak was there.
Perhaps the matchups had been tampered with, as they weren't pitted against any of the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon's teams.
They probably didn't want to risk facing Maeng Ak's team.
However, they couldn't just let them pass to the next test easily.
Their opponents were Team 77, a fairly strong team composed of a mix of subordinates loyal to the three antagonistic members of the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon.
For a matchup supposedly based on randomly assigned team numbers, it seemed rather suspicious.
Maeng Ak's team, confident in their abilities, didn't bother to raise any objections and simply walked onto the platform with dignity. And then.
*Shffk. Thud.*
In perfect sync, they deployed the Mystic Demon Formation on the platform. At the sight, the students who had been badmouthing them just moments before stopped talking, their jaws dropping.
"No! How in the world…!!"
They weren't the only ones who were surprised. From their opponents, Team 77, to the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon, everyone's eyes widened.
Only Hwan Cheon-hwa and Eum Cheon-myeong, after a moment of surprise, wore expressions that said, 'Of course.'
The other members of the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon—that is, the three antagonistic ones—frowned but decided to place their hopes in Team 77.
Team 77's leader, Kim Mu-myeong, was startled, but seeing the furrowed brow of his lord, Geom Cheon-ha, he steeled his resolve.
'I'm surprised, but it's fine. Even if they found the manual and learned it, they couldn't have practiced together for more than a few days. Even with that monster Maeng Ak, our proficiency with the Mystic Demon Formation is higher.'
"Don't be scared! They must have only perfected the opening to lure us into carelessness. If we stick to our plan, we will win!"
He rallied his team members and likewise deployed the Mystic Demon Formation.
And the moment the instructor gave the signal to begin, he moved.
Kim Mu-myeong, the leader at the forefront, moved quite fast.
He would have, had his opponent not been Maeng Ak.
*Thwack.*
Kim Mu-myeong had clearly moved first, yet his arm was caught by Maeng Ak, who had moved later.
"What is this…!"
He was about to cry out in shock, but the pain that shot through his arm stopped him.
*Crack. Crunch.*
"Kuaaaargh!"
Instead of words, a scream burst from his lips.
Maeng Ak had infused his left hand, which was gripping his arm, with internal energy and shattered it.
Thanks to that, Kim Mu-myeong's right arm dangled uselessly.
That was only the beginning. The fight between the leaders was over, and the second exchange began, starting with Chang On.
But what was this? Not only were their individual skills inferior to Maeng Ak's team, but the Mystic Demon Formation was completely ineffective.
Following the standard tactic of circling right didn't work, and switching to a defensive formation just got them broken again and again. Eventually, another member was injured after Kim Mu-myeong.
"Gah!"
Chang On slashed an enemy's thigh, Do Gwang cut another's back, Jo Gwang-uk struck an opponent's abdomen, and Gung So-so wounded another's forearm.
"Stop! Team 77 is unable to fight! Team 39 wins…"
Unable to watch any longer, the instructor confirmed the victory for Maeng Ak's team.
A duel even more overwhelming than the lopsided match between Team 1 and Team 100.
It was enough to stun every student and instructor in the grand training grounds.
"…!!!"
The shock was so great that the grand training grounds fell silent in an instant.
They had thought that with a monster like Maeng Ak, his team might win if they fought well, but no one had expected such a one-sided victory.
The individual capabilities of the team members, who had grown a level stronger after consuming the inner cores Maeng Ak gave them.
And his precise teachings on the Mystic Demon Formation and its counter-strategy had shone through.
The victors themselves, however, had a lukewarm reaction. Having sparred with Ha Gyeong's team, they were more aware of their own improvement than anyone.
Instead, from the moment they stepped onto the platform until they stepped off, they were amazed by Maeng Ak, who stood at the very front.
Truly, it felt as if this man could shatter all their limits and make their dreams come true.
Whether he knew this or not, Maeng Ak cast his gaze to one side of the training grounds.
There, he saw the three antagonistic members of the Five Phoenixes, One Dragon with frozen expressions and Ha Gyeong's team with clenched fists.
Having gone through the same process, Ha Gyeong's team was hoping for the same result.
And just then, it was Ha Gyeong's team's turn.
"Team 45. Step forward."