Reincarnated Sword Ghost-Chapter 17 : Special Test

Special Test
There were still several days left until the Special Test .
However, there wasn't anything in particular that required special preparation.
As usual, he simply circulated his true ki with One Illumination Movement Technique and observed his body.
It had become as natural as bending his fingers now, yet there were still moments when he felt an awkwardness in the fact that he was "operating" his true ki.
His goal was to move his true ki even more naturally than breathing itself.
'So that true ki will move on its own, without intention.'
Just as you blink without conscious thought.
Just as blood circulates through the body via the heart.
He believed it must be possible for true ki to circulate like that.
Even as he had never seen or heard of such a realm, he vaguely sensed that it existed.
The regret was that there was no training hall nearby where he could wield his sword.
There was a military hall, but it too belonged to a medium-sized sect of Hubei.
It wasn't a place where outsiders could freely enter and practice swordsmanship.
With little other choice, he had sometimes gone out to deserted areas beyond the city.
Thanks to that, Jeong-un felt the need for lightness skill even more urgently.
'What kind of test will it be?'
No matter how hard he tried to remain indifferent, his curiosity was inevitable.
The gate of Heavenly Martial Hall, which would only open to those who passed all three trials.
He'd heard that the process was completely different from the regular exams and that, although fewer people attended, the threshold was by no means low.
However, getting anxious would not make a difference.
All he could do, just as ever, was to train One Illumination Movement Technique and wield his sword.
That was all he could do.
* * *
'This place...'
Jeong-un looked up with a face touched with awe.
It was truly reminiscent of an impregnable steel fortress.
The front gate stood like a towering wall; the tiny guesthouse where he had stayed the previous night could have passed through it in its entirety.
The sight alone was enough to overwhelm any average person.
'They said the test would be at hour of the goat.*
It was almost hour of the goat.
Hundreds of martial artists stood in front of the enormous gate, holding their breath in silence.
Excitement, tension, composure, lethargy...
Their expressions varied, but all carried the same purpose.
To be admitted to Heavenly Martial Hall and make their names known in the martial world.
It was the very reason everyone had brought their Cloud Dragon Token within their sleeves.
'More than I expected.'
Compared to the regular exam, the number was truly like a speck of dust, yet it was still more than he had anticipated.
In fact, since the Cloud Dragon Token had been distributed to major sects, having a few hundred present was only natural.
Kuuung─!
Just then, a heavy sound resonated from Heavenly Martial Hall's great gate, which had seemed forever closed.
It was the sound of the massive iron hinges holding up the gigantic iron gate as they began to move.
Everyone fell silent as if by prior agreement.
Finally, as the gates slowly pushed inward, what lay beyond gradually came into view.
"...... Heh."
Someone standing near Jeong-un let out a startled breath.
A well-paved, gray-white stone path stretched straight ahead from the gate.
Towering pavilions flanked either side, and the further in they stood, the taller they loomed, casting an oppressive air.
Each had pitch-black roof tiles, and together, they looked like giant warriors lined up in formation.
"Follow me!"
While everyone was distracted by the scene,
a man had appeared in the center of the opened gate and called out.
Surprisingly, he was dressed more like a scholar than anything else.
With martial artists gathered from all over, one might expect a great expert to appear and lead them, but he was not.
On closer inspection, though his energy was reasonably focused, he would be hard to call a master.
'Is it confidence?'
He surely knew he could subdue any trouble immediately if anything happened within.
For some reason, that gave off a strange sense of pressure all its own.
Everyone followed the man further inside.
Soon after, another scholar-like man appeared and took a group of martial artists away.
Then yet another appeared, leading off another group.
After this sequence repeated several times, only about twenty people were left in the area.
"Wait here."
At last, they arrived before a white pavilion.
In the small courtyard, reminiscent of a training hall, the martial artists were unable to hide their tension.
Some fidgeted anxiously with the sword guards at their waists.
"When you are called, enter."
Without delay, he pointed at the one at the very front.
Startled for a moment, the martial artist looked at the man, then strode into the pavilion.
Shortly after,
the man who had entered walked back out, looking slightly disillusioned.
"What, what's this? Did he fail? That fast?"
Someone beside him muttered to themselves.
Everyone had the same thought. The time had been so brief—it wouldn't have sufficed to show even a shred of their skills.
"Enter."
Again, someone else was pointed out.
He entered the pavilion and returned just as crestfallen.
This repeated a few more times.
"......!"
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Before the last person to enter had come back out, someone else was called.
The person looked bewildered but entered the pavilion.
'If you pass, you don't come out again.'
Though he did not know the method, the man seemed to be receiving the results from inside.
That must mean the first person had made it through.
Finally, the man pointed at Jeong-un.
Jeong-un nodded and stepped forward.
He pushed the door open and entered the pavilion.
"......."
Though quite dark and empty inside, it was surprisingly ordinary.
There were only a few narrow windows, letting in little sunlight, which gave it a clammy feel.
At the far end, a man sat at a small desk, poring over a booklet.
"Come forward."
Even as Jeong-un approached, the man did not look up, his eyes fixed on the booklet.
At first glance, he seemed not to care who had entered.
"Hand me your Cloud Dragon Token."
Jeong-un took out his Cloud Dragon Token and placed it on the table.
The man took it, brought it close to his eyes, and examined it briefly.
Then he opened a drawer beneath the table and put it inside.
"The test is to answer three questions."
"......?"
Jeong-un's eyes widened in mild surprise.
"Is that really enough to decide?"
"Questions are not allowed."
"......."
And thus began the first question.
"State who you are and where you are from."
"... I am Yu Jeong-un, of the Yu household in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province."
The man nodded and jotted something down in the booklet.
He still did not look up.
"Why do you seek entry to Heavenly Martial Hall?"
"I heard it is the cradle of martial arts."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
What more was there to say? The intent of the question itself was unclear.
He thought it best just to answer honestly.
"The last question."
Suddenly, the man snapped his head up.
"......!"
In the pitch-black pupils that met his, something strange was present.
It certainly wasn't internal energy, but...
"When a very strong wind blows, what is the first thing to be stirred?"
Jeong-un resisted the urge to look back.
"... A small speck of dust would fly first."
"......"
The man lowered his head again and wrote something in the booklet,
as if nothing of importance had just occurred.
Finally, he motioned behind him with his hand.
"Go out that way."
It wasn't the door he had come in through.
"Did I pass?"
"......"
He acted as if there was nothing more to say.
Jeong-un passed by him and headed to the back door.
Creeeak─
The door closed.
The man, who had been staring at the booklet in silence, finally lifted his head.
His face, just moments ago expressionless, now seemed energetic.
"His ki has been refined to such an extent?"
"That kid... he sensed me."
"......!"
With eyes wide, the man turned to the corner of the room from which the voice had come.
Then he glanced down at the name he had written in the open booklet.
'... Yu of Hanzhong.'
Finally, he added characters in the blank space next to the name.
上上 ("Excellent").
* * *
Upon stepping through the door, Jeong-un was greeted by a powerful scent of flowers.
It was no wonder: the rear of the pavilion opened onto a wide garden.
The flowers, many of a kind he had never seen before, were in full bloom with not a single weed in sight.
He walked along a neatly laid white stone path, which soon opened onto a wide, manicured lawn.
Gradually, he began to see others assembled as well.
Once again, a scholar-attired man stood in the center,
but as he remained still, it seemed the second trial had not yet begun.
Compared to the tense atmosphere just before,
many now chatted with more relaxed expressions.
'Are these all people who passed the first test?'
Jeong-un recalled what had just happened.
The moment he had received the third question, he sensed a presence in the back corner.
'No, more than a presence...'
A current of vital ki.
Since cultivating his ki, he had naturally grown more sensitive to the flow of vital energy around him.
He hadn't sensed it upon entering the room, but the instant the question was asked, a strange energy seemed to brush over his body.
'Following the flow of the energy, I could sense a human form—like a painting taking shape.'
It was different from detecting a distant presence, as he had in the Yu household before.
While cultivating One Illumination Movement Technique and observing his body internally, it now felt as if that sense had been extended outside the body.
With more practice, he thought he'd be able to detect even someone hiding their presence with intent.
'I must keep practicing. The uses of true ki are limitless.'
If this was his current level, those of truly advanced skill would be like immortals.
He was still far from catching up.
"We will begin the second test now."
At that moment, the man in the center spoke quietly. Instantly, the surroundings stilled.
A quick glance showed that barely twenty people remained.
Even taking into account the groups split for the test, most had been dismissed at the first gate.
'... What kind of test was it, really?'
He had heard they assigned scores and ranked you.
But all they had done was run true ki through your body.
Any martial artist should always keep their true ki well regulated—how, then, could there have been anything to rank between them?
"The second test is a duel."
"......!"
"Those whose names are called, step forward."
A heavy tension descended over the garden.
It looked like the duels would be held right here.
There was no impressive training hall nor any elevated duel stage.
The flowery garden, beautiful and rare, had instantly become the arena for swords to be drawn against each other.
Just then, one martial artist with dark circles under his eyes raised his hand.
"I have a question."
"Speak."
"How many duels must we fight? If we win once, do we pass?"
Everyone shared his sentiment.
Because no questions had been allowed during the last exam, they had been holding back their curiosity.
"Whether you pass or fail doesn't depend on victory or defeat. Nor is the number of matches fixed."
"So then...?"
"If your result is decided, you'll be told so immediately. If not, you'll be called again for another duel whenever your name is called."
"......!"
Everyone looked shocked.
That meant you might pass or fail after a single duel, or you might have to duel as many times as it took until a decision was made.
If you used all your strength in the first duel and did not pass, you'd have to fight the next one physically spent.
"......"
A taut tension could be felt among the remaining martial artists.
Even though their inner energies were well kept, their emotions were agitated.
One man even sat cross-legged on the ground, preparing himself.
Yet Jeong-un had nothing in particular to prepare. He had never stopped cultivating One Illumination Movement Technique anyway.
Pairings began to be called, and in front of everyone's eyes, the duels commenced.
And, in the very first duel, both participants were eliminated.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】