[Chapter 4]
In that instant, it was as if a cold wave swept through the Training Grounds.
Survive.
In the end, out of the many talents gathered here, were they really going to select only one?
"How can this be?"
Just then, a girl in green robes standing somewhere in the middle cried out in a sharp voice.
"The talents here are all fellow practitioners of the Demonic Path. Are you telling us to kill each other?"
"Whether you fight or kill, that is for you to decide. You just need to become the victor and survive, no matter how."
"Isn't that the same thing?"
"If you don't like it, leave."
Hyeok Ryeon-eung said calmly.
"I am not forcing you. It is your choice to give up or to participate."
—If you don't like it, leave.
The girl in green robes, left with nothing to say, closed her mouth.
Seeing no more protests, Hyeok Ryeon-eung nodded and said in a low voice.
"Then, begin."
The gong installed on the training stage rang again.
In that instant,
"Aaargh!"
a scream erupted from the center of the training stage.
A boy had drawn a short spear like lightning and attacked the person standing next to him.
"Jeokryong. Finally, today I can kill you."
"We Woon-cheong! You bastard..."
We Woon-cheong and Jeokryong.
The two were sworn enemies, with grudges between their families and sects intertwined.
We Woon-cheong had used this opportunity to launch a sneak attack on Jeokryong and settle his grudge.
As Jeokryong fell, bleeding, dozens of participants screamed.
Watching this, Hyeok Ryeon-eung, on the contrary, nodded with a satisfied expression.
"Those who wish to leave, leave now. Once the battle begins, there will be no chance to escape."
But no one moved.
To be chosen as one of the Ten Demon Successors and learn world-shaking supreme arts meant that becoming the Greatest Demonic Master in the future was not just a dream.
How could they let such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away?
*Srrng.
Chaang.
Chaeng!*
A few people on the training stage drew their weapons and began to fight.
However, most of the participants were still running about in confusion, not knowing what to do.
They knew it was to select the most outstanding individuals, but they never imagined such a cruel plan would be carried out so readily.
—They didn't make us sign that pledge to relinquish our bodies just to scare us!
A few participants, only now realizing the weight of the pledge to relinquish their bodies, turned and ran off the Training Grounds.
But most of the participants were swinging their weapons like madmen.
'Foolish ones.'
Bu Eunseol stood tall at the edge of the Training Grounds with a cold expression.
He was wearing a conspicuous Ceremonial Robe and even carrying a bamboo box, yet no one attacked him.
'They've lost their reason due to the fear of death.'
Everyone on the Training Grounds was attacking only the enemies closest to them, as if they were blind.
Their reason was paralyzed by the fear of death.
—Fight.
And survive.
Those words did not necessarily mean to kill the other participants here.
It meant to endure to the end.
To hold on tenaciously and survive.
'If they had listened calmly, this wouldn't be happening.'
Unfortunately, most of the participants were young people who had just finished learning the martial arts of their sects.
In contrast, there was Bu Eunseol, who had prepared corpses for burial every single day for a year without fail.
Having contemplated the meaning of the word 'death' every day, he felt no fear or terror towards it.
"Uwaaagh!"
"Keuk!"
"Aaargh!"
Sharp screams began to ring out from all directions.
The participants who had initially fought bare-handed, even those who had just been encouraging each other, had now drawn their weapons and begun to unleash their Killing Moves.
'So it's not all just idiots.'
Far away, a boy with a pitch-black sword on his back and a Hero's Headband on his forehead, much like Bu Eunseol, had retreated to the outskirts of the training stage and was calmly watching the fight.
"Haap!"
At that moment, a boy who was swinging a Silver Meteor Hammer like lightning, felling participants left and right, met Bu Eunseol's gaze.
"…?"
Upon seeing the figure in the pitch-black Ceremonial Robe carrying a bamboo box, the boy flinched slightly.
But then, seeing Bu Eunseol's stance, he scoffed.
"What a pathetic fellow!"
Those who have learned martial arts, no matter their stance, firmly plant their lower bodies to the ground.
Seeing Bu Eunseol's bloodied feet resting limply, the boy instantly knew that he had not learned martial arts.
"Take this!"
With a battle cry, the silver Silver Meteor Hammer flew towards Bu Eunseol's face like a flash of lightning.
As Bu Eunseol reflexively leaned back,
*Whoosh.*
The Silver Meteor Hammer drew a semicircle in the air and struck Bu Eunseol's back.
*Crack!*
The bamboo box shattered and fell to the ground.
As he hastily tried to pick up the box, the Silver Meteor Hammer again spun in the air and headed for it.
*Crash!*
Inside the shattered box, a pitch-black robe was visible.
It was the Ceremonial Robe that Bu Janyang wore when he was alive, when he performed funeral rites.
"Are you a robe merchant?"
Even as the boy spinning the Silver Meteor Hammer sneered, Bu Eunseol's eyes remained unshaken.
"You will die."
"Hahaha. How amusing. Are you saying you'll kill me with that Peachwood Sword?"
As the boy was sneering,
*Thud.*
With a dull sound, the sharp tip of a spear protruded from the center of the boy's chest.
"Ugh."
When he looked back, he saw a boy holding a short spear, pushing its tip with all his might.
It was We Woon-cheong, the one who had ambushed and killed Jeokryong earlier.
"You bastard…"
As the boy with the Silver Meteor Hammer tried to move, We Woon-cheong quickly twisted and pulled out the short spear.
*Gush.*
The boy, pierced through the center of his chest, coughed up a clot of blood and died on the spot.
*Thump.*
Looking down at the fallen boy, Bu Eunseol muttered softly.
"That man with the short spear had been looking for a chance to attack you for a while now."
Bu Eunseol had spotted the boy wildly swinging the Silver Meteor Hammer, and We Woon-cheong nearby, waiting for a chance to strike.
In the end, by loitering in front of the boy with the Silver Meteor Hammer, Bu Eunseol had helped We Woon-cheong.
"Hmph."
We Woon-cheong, seeming to realize this, scoffed at Bu Eunseol.
"Why did you help me?"
"Because it seemed I would have to face him eventually anyway."
"From the looks of it, you haven't learned martial arts."
We Woon-cheong smirked.
"I can kill trash like you anytime."
We Woon-cheong, having found success in sneak attacks.
He was roaming the Training Grounds, assassinating the strong.
Since he could kill a weakling like Bu Eunseol at any time, he turned away without a second thought.
But We Woon-cheong did not know.
He did not know that Bu Eunseol had predicted his every move.
And that it was a grave mistake.
***
"There's no one who stands out yet."
Hyeok Ryeon-eung, watching from the platform, frowned.
In fact, it was he who had proposed this Second Trial.
Hyeok Ryeon-eung, a proponent of the Practical Combat Technique, had opposed the idea of selecting the Ten Demon Successors based solely on muscle and bone.
—It is true that muscle and bone are of the utmost importance in learning Advanced Martial Arts.
However, a peerless martial arts genius who can reach the ultimate state of Demonic Martial Arts cannot be judged by muscle and bone alone.
In the end, respecting his opinion as the Chief Instructor, they created the Second Trial to select another batch of candidates for the Ten Demon Successors.
"Are there really no talented individuals just because we excluded those with good muscle and bone?"
*Tiiing!*
Just then, a clear metallic sound echoed from the training stage.
A boy wearing a Hero's Headband on his head had drawn the treasure saber from his waist.
"The Sakjeong Blade?"
Hyeok Ryeon-eung narrowed his eyes.
The weapon the boy with the Hero's Headband had drawn was the Sakjeong Blade, the beloved saber of Mukhon, who was once called the Greatest Saber of the Rogues.
The Sakjeong Blade, considered one of the Four Great Sabers Under Heaven, had vanished after Mukhon's death.
And now, that boy with the Hero's Headband was holding it?
"Is he Mukhon's disciple?"
At that, the refined middle-aged man standing behind him.
Baek Jeon-cheon, the Hall Master of the Manbak Party, approached and said.
"His name is Neung Un-gang. It is said he found the secret manual and saber left behind by Mukhon in a secluded mountain valley."
The Manbak Party was a place where outstanding talents gathered, serving as the brains of the Demon Palace.
Before the competition began, Baek Jeon-cheon had memorized the personal details of all the participants listed in the Guestbook.
"In any case, since he has inherited Mukhon's legacy, he is his disciple in a sense."
"In that case, that boy will be the last one standing."
"However, since he learned the Saber Technique from a secret manual, his forms are not smooth."
Baek Jeon-cheon pointed to We Woon-cheong among the fiercely fighting participants.
"In my opinion, that child seems to be the most outstanding."
We Woon-cheong had grasped the martial levels of the participants on the Training Grounds faster than anyone else, and more importantly, he did not hesitate to unleash his Killing Moves.
Such a disposition could be said to be very suitable for learning Demonic Martial Arts.
"That boy will fall soon enough."
"What?"
"No matter that there are no allies and everyone must kill each other, if you go around launching sneak attacks, you're bound to stand out."
Hyeok Ryeon-eung shook his head.
"If you don't have the skill to face all the enemies on the Training Grounds at once, it's better not to do such things. In the end, you just become the target of everyone's vigilance."
As if to support Hyeok Ryeon-eung's words, We Woon-cheong's sneak attacks began to fail more and more.
Not only that, but the participants around him began to attack him with one mind and one heart.
'He will die soon.'
Baek Jeon-cheon, marveling at Hyeok Ryeon-eung's sharp foresight, said.
"But is there really a need to select candidates in such a brutal way? Even without fighting like this, wouldn't there be talents who develop quickly once taught martial arts?"
"From the beginning, the Elder Lord's Residence said it was enough to select only the peerless talents with good muscle and bone. But do you know why this old man planned the Second Trial?"
"Hmm… Is it not to find talents who, although their muscle and bone are a bit lacking, are strong in practical combat?"
"Not at all."
Hyeok Ryeon-eung let out a low laugh and said.
"To reach the ultimate state of Demonic Martial Arts, one needs not only good muscle and bone, but also an innate sense and a Killing Intent that can overturn the heavens."
Hyeok Ryeon-eung, looking at the boy wearing the Hero's Headband, said with a confident expression.
"And that can only be seen in the midst of extreme combat. Just like that child."
"Neung Un-gang… you mean?"
"Yes. Since he possesses beast-like senses and Killing Intent, he will probably be the last one standing."
At Hyeok Ryeon-eung's confident declaration, Baek Jeon-cheon smiled calmly.
"The words of the Chief Instructor, who has likely fought with others his entire life, are probably correct."
However, Hyeok Ryeon-eung's prediction was only half right.
When the fight finally came to an end, there were two people left on the Training Grounds.
***
The participants who had filled the Training Grounds like clouds were mostly dead or dying from fatal wounds.
No matter how skilled in martial arts they were, the participants were young boys and girls under the age of eighteen.
At an age when even the meaning of death was unfamiliar, it was impossible to survive a chaotic battle where enemies were on all sides.
Even We Woon-cheong, who had roamed the Training Grounds, picking off and assassinating only the strong, had in the end become a cold corpse.
*Shhhk.*
Just then, Neung Un-gang, who was standing tall on the training stage, flicked the blood off his Sakjeong Blade.
"This is unexpected."
Neung Un-gang smiled as he looked at Bu Eunseol, who stood tall across from him.
"To think you would be the last one to survive."
Neung Un-gang already knew.
He knew that the Bu Eunseol standing before him was the weakest and most insignificant among all who had filled the Training Grounds.
"Now, if I just kill you… will I become a candidate for the Ten Demon Successors?"
Despite Neung Un-gang's provocation, Bu Eunseol merely stared back at him in silence.
"Heh heh."
Letting out a low laugh, Neung Un-gang beckoned to Bu Eunseol with his finger.
"Come at me."
*Thud, thud.*
Bu Eunseol, who had avoided fighting with all his might until now, slowly approached Neung Un-gang.
This battle was unavoidable.
Without defeating Neung Un-gang, he could not become a candidate for the Ten Demon Successors.
*Click.*
Setting down the broken bamboo box, Bu Eunseol drew the Peachwood Sword hanging from it.
Watching this, Neung Un-gang grinned, revealing his fangs.
"You madman."
Even at the insulting provocation, Bu Eunseol did not respond and focused his mind.
Bu Eunseol, who had been stealthily moving around the Training Grounds, had already guessed that Neung Un-gang would be the last one to survive.
'He is the strongest.'
It looked like he was swinging his sword randomly, but every move contained a profound principle.
He struggled to defeat his enemies, but his skill was gradually improving.
Bu Eunseol instinctively knew that Neung Un-gang was the strongest among the participants on the Training Grounds.
And so he diligently observed and observed again the wounds of the participants he had defeated.
'I can definitely win.'
Bu Eunseol had already found a weakness in Neung Un-gang's saber forms.
Moreover, Neung Un-gang was underestimating him.
In a real battle, a moment's carelessness determines life and death.
Especially since Neung Un-gang had figured out that he had not properly learned martial arts, he would likely attack leisurely before trying to end his life.
"You have some nerve."
Neung Un-gang sneered upon seeing the fighting spirit rising in Bu Eunseol's eyes.
"Do you think you can defeat me?"
*Flash!*
The blackened Sakjeong Blade flashed with a brilliant light in the air.
*Rip.*
With the sound of flesh tearing, blood flowed from Bu Eunseol's shoulder and right thigh.
"You have guts, but that's not enough."
Neung Un-gang had expected Bu Eunseol to jump back and dodge, so he had unleashed his technique accordingly.
But Bu Eunseol had only stared at him, not moving an inch, as if he had turned to stone.
"No, were you unable to dodge? Hahaha."
Letting out a low laugh, Neung Un-gang swung the Sakjeong Blade again.
*Slash.*
This time, a piece of flesh from Bu Eunseol's shoulder was sent flying.
He could have just cut or stabbed him to death, but to make it painful, he had only sliced away the muscle on his shoulder blade.
*Drip.
Drip.*
Clots of red blood fell from where the flesh had been torn away.
But Bu Eunseol just stood there calmly, as if he felt no pain at all.
"Hahaha! Are you too scared to move!"
Like a cat playing with a mouse, every time Neung Un-gang swung his sword, Bu Eunseol's Ceremonial Robe became stained bright red.
*Drip.*
Even though he wore a pitch-black Ceremonial Robe, the red blood soaked into the fabric.
Bu Eunseol looked like a snowman painted with black and red paint.
"What a pathetic sword."
Bu Eunseol, his entire body except his eyes drenched in blood, said in a low voice.
"Seeing as how it only slices off pieces of flesh."
"What did you say?"
In an instant, a sharp blue light gleamed in Neung Un-gang's eyes.
"Are you asking to be killed quickly?"
A thick Killing Intent rose like a haze from the eyes of Neung Un-gang, who held the Sakjeong Blade.
He had decided to finish Bu Eunseol off using his most cruel and sharp technique.
'He's coming!'
Seeing Neung Un-gang twist the Sakjeong Blade in his grip, Bu Eunseol raised the Peachwood Sword he was holding to a middle guard.
'There is only one chance!'
Bu Eunseol had been studying the wounds of those who had been struck down by Neung Un-gang.
He had discovered a fatal flaw in the Killing Move that Neung Un-gang frequently used.
'Below the knees.'
The moment he extended his saber, it seemed to flawlessly envelop his opponent, but the areas he actually attacked were only above the knee.
'He must think that no master of the Martial World would duck down low to dodge an attack.'
"Die!"
Just then, Neung Un-gang, who had rushed forward using his Movement Technique, unleashed his Killing Move.
*Flash!*
As a brilliant light poured out, Bu Eunseol, without a moment to think, dropped flat to the ground like lightning.
*Swoosh.*
As the sharp technique grazed over his head, his disheveled hair was cut and scattered.
'Now!'
Leaping up like a freshly caught carp, Bu Eunseol forcefully stabbed Neung Un-gang's Heavenly Throat Point with his Peachwood Sword.
—The Heavenly Throat Point is a place that even External Martial Artists find difficult to train.
—But the street performers press swords against that spot, right?
—Hahaha.
That's because they press the sword slowly against their throat.
It's an acupoint where even a child, striking with all their might, can knock out an adult.
*Thwack.*
With a dull sound, a choked groan echoed.
"Ugh."
Neung Un-gang's mouth fell open, and his eyes widened.
Somehow, the old Peachwood Sword was lodged in his Heavenly Throat Point, just below his Adam's apple.
"Kk, kkeu…"
No matter that it was a Peachwood Sword made to exorcise ghosts, the blade was still sharpened.
*Drip.*
As red blood flowed from the Peachwood Sword stuck below his Adam's apple, Neung Un-gang, who had been letting out choked groans,
*Thud.*
died on the spot.
At the same time, the loud sound of a gong echoed.
The Second Trial was over.
"…"
But as a completely unexpected result emerged, a deathly silence fell over the platform.
"Is it over?"
Bu Eunseol, looking up at Hyeok Ryeon-eung and Baek Jeon-cheon standing on the platform, opened his mouth.
"Or is there another trial?"
Bu Eunseol, drenched in blood, looked up with sharp eyes, appearing like a Rakshasa demon that had clawed its way out of hell.
-End of Chapter 4-