Chapter 7
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*Clack! Clack!*
A handsome, long-haired youth, presumably a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, struck the head and arms of his opponent, who had already collapsed to the ground.
"Kehek, ugh!"
His sword clattered across the floor. The boy wearing a headband couldn't even find a moment to steady his stance before the next blow landed.
*Thwack!*
The youth’s wooden sword pierced his opponent’s chest, and with movements as fluid as flowing water, he traced a dazzling pattern of plum blossoms with his blade.
"Kuh-ugh!"
As his opponent was sent flying off the sparring platform, he finished his technique with a flourish of his long hair.
"Wow..."
There was no need for anyone to tell me he was a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect. The opponent hadn't been able to parry a single strike from that handsome youth. The gap in skill was simply too vast.
"Argh! I yield, I yield!"
He seemed to have held back, as it was only a sparring match, but the boy with the headband cried out in tears, his arm clearly broken. *Goodness, he doesn't even have the basics down.*
"Mount Hua Sect, Eun-hyun wins."
Oh, so his name was Eun-hyun. As soon as the martial arts instructor spoke, he ceased his movements instantly.
"Can we proceed with the next spar immediately?"
"Yes."
"Prepare yourselves; we will begin in half a *gak*. Yu-gwon, a secular disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, you may return now. If you require treatment, head to the Black Rock Pavilion."
Eun-hyun bowed his head to the instructor and approached the opponent he had just defeated.
"I have learned much."
"Ugh, uh, ugh..."
He bowed and performed a *pogwon* salute. Ah, that was the proper etiquette at the end of a spar. I had known that, but since we rarely observed such formalities at the Ice Palace, I had forgotten.
"Tsk, as if he’s not just mocking him."
Maeng Ryeong-ji clicked her tongue. Was it really necessary to view it so negatively? The boy with the headband was just opening and closing his mouth, unable to respond. He was completely terrified, and with blood streaming from his arm, he didn't seem to have the presence of mind to acknowledge the polite greeting.
"Oooooh!"
"Eun-hyun!"
"The victory is as good as his!"
"As expected of a rising star from the Nine Great Sects!"
The spectators who had come to watch him cheered, but—
"...His hand is cruel. The moment the sword was dropped, the match was already over."
Maeng Ryeong-ji muttered, looking displeased.
"Is that so?"
I tilted my head. If I had struck with genuine intent, it wouldn't have ended with just that. Wasn't it generous enough for a disciple of the Nine Great Sects to show that much restraint? Of course, if he had shown even more mercy, he could have aimed for the sword instead of the arm. And one could argue that striking the chest afterward to break his ribs was excessive. But if you step onto the sparring platform, you should be prepared for that.
"Perhaps he just wanted to show the instructor his technique to the very end?"
I shrugged, thinking Eun-hyun had done his best to pass while still controlling his strength, but Maeng Ryeong-ji’s expression remained cold.
"Perhaps."
"Well, that kid was just unlucky to be paired with a disciple of Mount Hua."
Since the applicants were fighting each other and the winner had to spar again, it seemed to be a tournament style. Hmm, if he hadn't been matched against such an ecosystem-destroying monster, but rather someone of similar skill, would the boy with the headband have been able to show something more?
"Ahem, that is not necessarily the case."
I had been muttering to myself, but three boys standing to my right glanced at me and spoke up.
"The standards are actually quite lenient for applicants from small and medium sects. Every year, they force at least ten of them to pass."
"It is the great will of Great Monk Seon-gak to keep the doors of the Heavenly Martial Academy open to everyone."
Ah, was that it? Seeing the academy entrance plaques hanging prominently at their waists, I wondered if they were fellow students who would be entering the academy with me.
"Did you all come to witness the martial arts of the Mount Hua Sect disciple as well?"
I had spoken loudly enough for them to hear, but when I actually addressed them, the three boys were startled.
"Ah, yes! I am Poong-seung!"
"I am Sim Yang-oh!"
I hadn't asked for their names, but they blushed, clasped their hands together, and introduced themselves politely.
"From which sect?"
"We were recommended by the Murong Clan!"
"Ahem! This friend's brother-in-law might become the Young Clan Leader of the Murong Clan!"
As I expected, they were indeed fellow prospective students. Their surnames weren't Murong, so if they were recommended by them, were they distant relatives, in-laws, or perhaps children from a subordinate family?
"Ahem, ahem... I have never seen a beauty like the young lady in Liaoning..."
"Might we ask for the young lady's, no, the young ladies' names..."
I had wondered if they were the strongest among the children of my age associated with the Murong Clan. Maeng Ryeong-ji frowned and scanned them up and down, and as soon as the three shrank back, she lost interest.
"I am Seol Sool-ryeo."
"I, I see. Young Lady Sool-ryeo. We were curious to see Eun-hyun's skill, but we were disappointed because his opponent was too weak."
"The entrance exam is usually nothing to look at. You have to wait for the Heavenly Martial Gathering, the Ranking Spars, or the Martial Star Festival held by the academy students to see the promising rising stars."
It certainly seemed that way. It would have been nice to see him meet an opponent who could truly draw out his skills.
*‘If I used my Ice Soul Divine Palm, would I be able to beat them...?’*
I narrowed my eyes, attempting to gauge their level. The top rising star of the Murong Clan was likely stronger than me, but they couldn't send the strongest child of every generation to the academy every year. Could I at least beat a child from a branch family?
Although I had the fatal disadvantage of being terminally ill, the Nine Yin Severed Meridians was a constitution optimized for learning ice-based arts. In my own way, I had been called the greatest talent in the North Sea Ice Palace since I was young.
"Mount Hua Sect's Eun-hyun, Jin-yong Gate's Gong-young. Spar, begin."
While we were chatting, the sparring platform had been cleared, and right on time, the instructor announced the start of the next match.
One of the participants was Eun-hyun, and the other was a boy a head taller than him who had passed the previous round on the adjacent platform.
*‘A spear? I don't have much experience fighting against spears...’*
Before my thought could finish, Eun-hyun dodged the opponent's spear.
*Whoosh!*
He ducked his body low and swung his sword, aiming for the shins.
"Argh!"
"He can't even last ten exchanges!"
"Finish it!"
Was this also a technique? An application? The spearman screamed, and the match ended even faster than the last one.
"Ugh, his basic footwork is non-existent!"
Poong-seung, standing next to me, criticized the spearman's skill.
"It ended in such a lackluster way."
I thought the instructor would declare the winner right there, but it seemed that, according to the rules, simply falling down didn't decide the match.
*‘Ah, so that’s why he did that before, too.’*
It wasn't over. Just like in the previous spar, Eun-hyun showcased a flashy technique against the fallen Gong-young.
"Haa..."
Maeng Ryeong-ji crossed her arms, clearly unhappy that Eun-hyun had drawn blood.
"I wondered why he insisted on participating in the entrance exam; I suppose he has a hobby of trampling on the weak."
Eun-hyun continued his attacks with a stoic face, chasing the man who was crawling away.
"Argh! H-h-h-ugh!"
"Hey, he should at least use the 'Dragon-Subduing Steps'!"
"Waaaah! Eun-hyun!"
Goodness, that’s a bit much. Even if it was just for a moment, if he infused that much internal energy, he could kill a person even with a wooden sword.
"...I advise you to yield quickly."
"I-I yield! I lost!"
Finally, the instructor spoke up. Had he been so terrified that he had forgotten he was in a sparring match? Hearing the instructor's words, Gong-young hurriedly shouted his surrender.
"Phew, Mount Hua Sect's Eun-hyun wins."
Just like that, two spars ended in the blink of an eye.
Next were the turns of children from two sects I had never heard of.
"Hmm... this is ambiguous."
"With skills like that, they wouldn't last a single hour in the jungle."
The words of the boys who had been talking about the level of the entrance exam weren't wrong. The remaining spars weren't worth watching. They were fighting quite fiercely in their own way, but it looked as if they couldn't draw out their internal energy, regardless of how they had learned their martial arts.
Several more spars passed. There were matches where the skill gap was like heaven and earth, and others where they fought until the time limit. Eun-hyun's matches were, without exception, the former.
How much time had passed? The instructor stood up and signaled for everyone to gather at the central platform. A short while later, the spars on all platforms ended, and he announced a few of the successful candidates first.
"Mount Hua Sect's Eun-hyun, Seo-yong Gate's Ju Pyeong-sam, Dan-li Clan's Dan-li-hyang, and the unaffiliated Gu Won-ui. These four are confirmed to have passed. The spar to determine the winner will be held from the Hour of the Rooster (5 PM - 7 PM), so go and rest."
"Waaaah!"
Cheers erupted. According to what I had heard earlier, the Heavenly Martial Academy forced itself to select at least ten students every year from this entrance exam. As Eun-hyun had kept winning while I was watching, the four mentioned must have won consecutive victories on other platforms, and now they were going to select the remaining candidates who showed potential.
"Shaolin's secular disciple Son-gang, Bota Gate's Jeong Ha-rin, Mo Family Manor's Mo Young-taek..."
He called out twenty or thirty names, but not one of them had fought Eun-hyun. Even if the academy took their backgrounds into account, they had been defeated before they could show anything, so one couldn't say luck didn't play a part.
"Hyang-ah! Congratulations!"
"Ahaha, thank you."
"Senior Brother Ju...! You are amazing!"
"It's only just entering the academy, after all."
As the first four called stepped down from the training ground, many people flocked to them. In the case of Dan-li-hyang and Ju Pyeong-sam, those who had come to cheer from their respective clans and sects did not spare their congratulations.
*‘Come to think of it, what about him?’*
Setting aside Gu Won-ui, who had no affiliation, Eun-hyun was a member of a major sect like Mount Hua, yet not a single acquaintance was in sight. Did he have no friends? It wouldn't be easy to fail to win people's favor with such a strikingly handsome appearance.
*‘Is there some sort of situation?’*
Hmm... a handsome man with a story, I like it. His expressionless face with his eyes cast downward looked quite sorrowful, so I filled my face with a smile and took in his features.
*‘...?’*
Just then, Eun-hyun lifted his head, and our eyes met.
Author │ Musk Deer
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J-Plus Media Co., Ltd.
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ⓒMusk Deer 2026
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