Chapter 17 – Ranking Dispute (2)

In the morning, the senior instructors came to lead the trainees somewhere. It was unknown how far and for how long they walked. Finally, they stopped in an area with quite a lot of space. 

In the middle of the area, Sang In-hyo stood with a smile of unknown meaning. 

“This is where the third Trial of Life and Death will be held.”

It seemed that the third Trial would be held in a vacant lot, void of any life-threatening things. The trainees, who were expecting more dangerous terrain, murmured at this realization.

“Only the strong stand at the end. The strong stand alone and the weak perish. This is true in any part of Murim, but especially so in our Cult.”

His voice was small, but it reached the ears of all the children. Woon Seong once again shook his head due to the skill of this General Director.

“The strong are treated appropriately. If so, aren’t you all curious? Who is the strongest of you?”

The children looked at each other. Their skills had been accumulated through the closed-door training. Now, they had become quite proud of their abilities. Each of them came and went with eyes that showed they thought they were the best. 

Sang In-hyo nodded at their behavior, as if he were satisfied. “That is what we find out in this third Trial. We call it the ‘Strife of Life and Death’.”

A fight between life and death.

“Life and death. Make the opponent surrender through your strength, dead or alive! If they don’t surrender, you can kill! But keep one thing in mind. There is only a living person and a dead man walking, a winner and a loser on this stage!”

Sang In-hyo’s words made their hearts beat. Some of them could not contain themselves and shouted.

“Oh, I have not told you.” Sang In-hyo added, slowly descending the platform. “To the one who survives until the end, we will make you a weapon of Flame Patterned Black Iron. If you desire it, do not lose.” He smiled.

Soon after, the Trial began.

The process was very simple. The instructor would call two children forward to fight. The winners and losers would then be split and fight again in their respective groups. It would repeat until there was the final winner left. 

The martial arts of the trainees who climbed upon the state continued to burst forth. All were trainees who had survived the Cave of Latent Demons. There wasn’t a single one who had half-baked skills. The trainees were all no nonsense, because the winner among them would have honor.

Even in such an atmosphere, Woon-seong thought differently. Who cared about this shallow honor? The last person standing could receive the prize. He moistened his lips with a swipe of his tongue. He would be lying if he said he had no ambition.

Black iron had a value similar to a lump of gold. It was natural that greed would arise. In addition, this was no ordinary black iron but the flame-patterned sort. This type had flame patterns and when melted, made a beautiful weapon that was stronger than ordinary ones.

Even if it wasn’t for the weapon, Woon-seong planned to defeat them all. Pride from his previous life would not allow him to lose.

“Number 63 and Number 900!”

Woon-seong’s name was soon called and he went up to the stage.

The moment you stepped onto the stage, the duel began. Strictly speaking, this duel had already begun.

Woon-seong slowly moved forward, looking at the face of Number 63. He did not recognize the other, so perhaps the other was not from the 3rd Hall. 

Number 63 smiled after hearing the ranking of Woon-seong and believed that his opponent was akin to a free win. This was because their number represented their ranking in talent and strength — 900 was essentially dead last. Of course, this ranking was not absolute: people could go beyond their supposed level, but who was monstrous enough to overcome natural talent?

Number 63 had not met someone that could show skills far beyond their rank. Currently, there were 800 ranks between himself and his opponent. He believed it would be an easy victory.

“Why don’t you surrender now, and I’ll let you live!”

Maybe it was supposed to be a provocation, but it showed that he had not judged Woon-seong’s level very well.

The trainees of the 3rd Hall, who remembered Woon-seong’s face, swallowed their saliva. This was a guy who started as Number 900 and showed overwhelming accomplishment by beating almost the entirety of the 3rd Hall. Number 63 was looking for death. 

“Did you hear me? I said you could live if you surrender now.”

“You seem to overestimate yourself.”

The moment the other was shaking his head at his words, Woon-seong darted out. Frenzied movements spilled out from his body.

Number 63 was startled and lifted his sword. Sparks formed as their weapons met!

Number 63 was immediately pushed backwards and Woon-seong chased him again, wielding his spear. The other was hit on his thighs and shoulders in a row. At this point, his body had twisted. 

With a spear to the other’s neck, Woon-seong asked, “I ask the opposite. Will you let me win or will you choose the punishment?”

At the mention of punishment, Woon-seong wrapped himself in ‘intimidation qi’. Number 63 murmured his answer with his limbs trembling like the branches of an aspen tree. 

“Hah, I surrender.”

Woon-seong had his first victory just like that. 

These duels continued. Some won, some lost. Even in such circumstances, there were a few who continued with overwhelming, continuous victories.

Number 1 used twin blades and defeated the others with pure strength. Number 109 used a quicksword, moving faster than anyone else, causing his opponents to fall down before they could even surrender. Next was Woon-seong. He knocked down his opponents without using a qi. His ability was so great that he did not even need to reveal his martial arts properly in order to defeat the others.

Woon Seong also noticed A-Young’s strength.

Previously, Woon-seong had only been using basic martial arts. With how neat his movements were, even if his opponent did not surrender and were killed, he did not have a drop of blood on his sword or staining his clothes. 

After watching the matches, he was now confident in winning Number 1 and 109 without removing the bracers. However, unless he took them off, he could not guarantee winning against A-young. The eyes staring at her gradually hardened.

The duels continued. In the process, more than ten children died. The Cave of Latent Demons, which had begun with 1,000 people, now had fewer than 80 left. 

Finally, there were only four trainees qualified to remain on the platform.

Woon-seong identified the faces of the other survivors and confirmed his previous predictions as correct. Number 1, Number 109, A-young, and himself.

Only two more fights would determine the final winner.

“Number 1, Number 900. Come forward!”

Woon-seong went up the state with a cool face when he heard this call. His opponent could not hide his hostility. Number 1 pointed one of his blades at his opponent, feeling humiliated to see a Woon Seong who was still nonchalant.

Woon-seong laughed in response. His opponent’s answer to that was even worse than before. Number 1 released a totally different energy that he had when he dealt with his other opponents. 

“There was no one in 1st Hall who looked down on me. That remains the same here!”

Again, Woon-seong laughed. He twirled his spear, round and round. In his body, a turbulent stream of qi began to circulate. 

“You have no idea how vast Murim is.”

In response to the provocation, Woon-seong moved casually. As he approached, his opponent was also preparing to move, but Woon-seong’s movements were getting faster as his body became a storm. 

Gwan Tae-ryang blocked his first strike and swung back. As their weapons collided, sparks emanated from all sides and the clashing of metal could be heard. 

Ta-ta-ta.

As they exchanged blows, balance seemed to be maintained. Spear, blade, spear, blade. They rotated their bodies and manipulated their qi. 

“Someone like you is nothing special in the martial society. If you don’t want to be looked down on, go train yourself more.”

Woon-seong suddenly started to move faster. His eyes were dark and as his spear moved faster, the body of Gwan Tae-ryung flew out. 

‘The Art of Six Seals and Destruction’

‘The Moon of Death and the Dark Night’

The moon died, only the dark night was filled with Heaven.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Il-Hwang, 일황]

[Translator – moonchildkhz]

[Proofreader – Mayank]