CHAPTER: Chapter 25
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Chapter 25
As though a shadow were seeping out from the darkness, a man revealed himself.
His face was covered and his presence was concealed, but the voice was familiar.
“What brings you here, Senior Head Instructor Yajin?”
“Hehehe, Uncheon. Congratulations on formally becoming a warrior of this sect.”
With those words, Senior Head Instructor Yajin handed something to Uncheon.
It was an object placed inside a heavy leather sheath.
When Uncheon opened the sheath, a heavy metal flying dagger that contained a chill, cold air revealed itself.
“…Is this a flying dagger?”
At a glance, it was far more exquisite and superior to the ordinary flying daggers he had received from the quartermaster.
“I saw the Soul-Severing Dagger you used in the spar. Until now, you used rings or other objects for training, but your proficiency now seems sufficient. You may use this.”
The moment Uncheon had thrown the Iron Weight and wounded Instructor Jeok Mugwang during the spar, Yajin had truly felt a shudder run through him.
‘That fellow is a born competitor—no, an assassin! If he comes to the Shadowless Killing Sect, he may be even better than the ones our sect has been raising with all our effort.’
A faint light of greed circled in Yajin’s eyes.
‘…If his body is healed, he will become an even greater monster than he is now. I must form a connection with him in advance.’
Uncheon stored the flying dagger away and expressed his gratitude.
“…I will use it well.”
“Hehehe, thanks to you demonstrating the Shadowless Step and Soul-Severing Dagger during the spar with Instructor Jeok Mugwang, this Head Instructor’s reputation and the reputation of the Shadowless Killing Sect have risen as well. Enough that I no longer even think about the Instruction Token I invested.”
“It was helpful to me as well.”
“The Shadowless Killing Sect is paying close attention to you. If… you are interested, tell me at any time. I shall take my leave today.”
After finishing his words, Yajin did not wait for Uncheon’s answer.
His form vanished soundlessly, as if seeping into the thick darkness of the corridor.
Uncheon fastened the flying dagger he had received from Yajin at his waist and stared for a moment in the direction where he had disappeared.
‘The Shadowless Killing Sect….’
One of the Ten Sects of the Demonic Cult.
He had heard the name several times, but he had yet to truly feel how great its influence was.
‘Among the cadets of Hidden Demon Cave, there were almost none from the Ten Sects of the Demonic Cult or the Twelve Guardian Families….’
The ones Uncheon had encountered were the two from the Sagal Muk Family, Yayul Hui, and Jang Daesan of the Ironblood Limitless Sect.
However, Yayul Hui had not properly received her family’s martial arts, and the Sagal Muk Family was a family famous more for its poison arts and viciousness than for the martial arts it possessed.
Jang Daesan of the Ironblood Limitless Sect did not seem to hold a particularly high position either.
Aside from them, the Ten Sects of the Demonic Cult had barely sent any cadets into Hidden Demon Cave.
That meant only one thing.
‘Are the true talents being raised in secret?’
If he wished to compete with them, it was urgent for him to recover his body at least to the point where he could handle internal energy.
After all, if he immediately affiliated himself with some organization, it would be difficult to find a chance to recover his body.
‘Not bad. But not now….’
Uncheon stared for a moment in the direction Yajin had vanished, then began walking again.
His destination was the private stone chamber in Hidden Demon Cave where he had stayed for one year.
If he was to stay in the inner archive for a long time from now on, he also had to stop by the Nourishment Hall and the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.
“U-Uncheon!”
As he passed through a familiar area, gazes different from before fixed on him.
When Uncheon passed near the training ground, the movements of the cadets who had been training stopped for an instant.
The cadets’ eyes, seeing the newly issued martial uniform and the sword and saber at his waist, were filled with a mixture of awe and curiosity.
“That is the sect’s martial uniform and real blades!”
“He really became a formal warrior…!”
The gazes of contempt and disdain that had once poured openly toward him had vanished as if washed away.
When he passed, the whispering stopped, and some of them unconsciously stepped aside.
Uncheon was no longer a lucky beggar.
“Incredible. Before even the children of the Twelve Guardian Families….”
Uncheon was already a living legend who had defeated an instructor in a spar and passed through Hidden Demon Cave in a single year.
That record would likely remain unbroken for a long time.
As he walked through the corridors of Hidden Demon Cave, familiar names reached Uncheon’s ears.
“It is easier to breathe now that those arrogant bastards from the Sagal Muk Family are nowhere to be seen. They strutted around so much just because they were from one of the Twelve Guardian Families….”
“Those bastards are famous for entering Hidden Demon Cave every time and causing trouble.”
“Rather, the higher-ranked Twelve Guardian Families and the Ten Sects of the Demonic Cult do not even show their noses in Hidden Demon Cave.”
“Then what happened with Yayul Hui of the Mad Wind Yayul Family?”
“She is a daughter of a martial family. It is obvious without even seeing it. She seems fairly talented, but… she will never be as good as her elder brother, will she?”
Uncheon walked silently while listening to that conversation.
Then, just as he was about to turn down the corridor, he encountered a familiar figure.
It was Yayul Hui.
She looked over Uncheon’s new martial uniform and the heavy sword and saber at his waist, then gave a faint laugh.
“…The martial uniform suits you well. You look quite like a warrior now.”
Her tone was calm, as if she did not care about the whispers around them.
‘I will walk my own martial path.’
After making that decision, Yayul Hui no longer heard the murmuring of the surrounding cadets.
“You, too, have lost your hesitation. You now have the eyes of a martial artist.”
While Uncheon and Yayul Hui were exchanging greetings, a killing intent-filled voice cut in from the opposite side.
“How convenient. The two of you are together.”
Yayul Hui’s brow furrowed.
When Uncheon turned his head, a man approached with a venomous expression, his eyes bright like a poisonous snake.
It was Muk Hajin of the Sagal Muk Family.
“Muk Hajin? Should you not still be lying in the infirmary?”
At Yayul Hui’s words, Muk Hajin gave a fishy smile and glared at Uncheon.
“Hmph, I only lost consciousness. I have no real injuries. More importantly… Uncheon, I hear you became a formal warrior?”
Muk Hajin ground his teeth.
Before he had lost consciousness, he remembered only that he had wounded a Head Instructor and sent him flying.
He had not seen the spars that followed with Yuha and Uncheon.
“You are quite lucky. If I had not merely fainted, I would have been the one to become a formal warrior….”
At his words, Yayul Hui’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
“Ha! Do not tell me you have not heard whom Uncheon sparred against?”
“Hmph, I have no interest in such things. They were only lowly First Rate Head Instructors anyway. He must have faced that foolish new Head Instructor, Ma Chung.”
Muk Hajin firmly believed that Uncheon must have faced the new Head Instructor Ma Chung and won.
His arrogance came from believing that he alone was the only true expert who had fought a “match” evenly against a Head Instructor.
In his mind, it was unimaginable that Uncheon, who had been dragged here looking like a beggar, possessed greater skill than himself, someone from one of the Twelve Guardian Families.
“You truly know nothing. Do you think you can be Uncheon’s opponent?”
When he was openly dismissed in front of Yayul Hui, jealousy overturned Muk Hajin’s reason.
“…Questions and answers are needless!”
From the start, he had only heard that Uncheon had become a formal warrior without knowing the circumstances before and after, then had stormed out of bed.
He intended to settle things before Uncheon left Hidden Demon Cave.
“Uncheon! Fight me here and now. I will personally confirm whether you are truly qualified!”
Uncheon sighed as if he found it bothersome.
“…With your skill? Why not recover your body in the infirmary?”
“Yayul Hui, move aside! You can watch from there.”
Muk Hajin pushed Yayul Hui away and kicked off the ground, rushing forward.
His form twisted strangely.
It was the Sagal Muk Family’s inherited footwork.
The Serpentine Step.
It was ever-changing footwork that seemed to charge in a straight line, only to burrow into a blind spot in an instant.
‘Oh.’
Uncheon’s eyes narrowed.
As the saying went, even a rotten herring was still a herring. There was a sharpness befitting a direct descendant of one of the Twelve Guardian Families.
‘This fellow is also at the entrance of the First Rate. He is a little better than Yayul Hui.’
It was called the entrance of the First Rate, but reaching the First Rate before even coming of age meant he possessed considerable martial talent.
At the First Rate, one could act as a warrior anywhere in the Central Plains.
SWISH!
Muk Hajin’s fingertips dug toward Uncheon’s neck like the fangs of a venomous snake.
It was a surprise attack that would have flustered an ordinary master and made him retreat. However, Uncheon did not dodge.
‘So this is the snake’s head.’
Instead, he simply extended one foot toward the trajectory Muk Hajin was using to rush in.
Tap.
“……?!”
Muk Hajin’s eyes widened.
His dazzlingly changing footwork was abruptly caught and stopped by the tip of Uncheon’s casually extended foot.
It was like a snake whose head had been stepped on before it even emerged from its hole.
“It seems to be footwork inspired by the movements of a snake.”
“Shut up! What would you know?”
“The essence of a snake’s movement lies in the flexibility of its waist. But you thrust your head forward first in the direction of your attack. That is why your next move is so easy to read.”
At Uncheon’s cold critique, Muk Hajin’s face turned crimson.
It was the humiliation of having his family’s secret art openly dismantled.
Muk Hajin immediately changed his fist momentum and unleashed a fierce assault.
Snake-Scorpion Exploding Scale Fist!
Dozens of fist shadows covered Uncheon like a swarm of venomous snakes.
However, even while watching that rain of fists, Uncheon remained calm.
No, instead, he carefully observed Muk Hajin’s movements and raised the corners of his mouth.
“That looks interesting.”
The next instant, Uncheon’s hand moved.
Astonishingly, it was not a defense.
His fist extended along the same trajectory as Muk Hajin’s Snake-Scorpion Exploding Scale Fist—no, at an even more perfect angle.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
“Kgh! Cough!”
Fists collided with fists in midair.
However, the one being pushed back was Muk Hajin.
It was the same form, but Uncheon’s fists were faster and more accurate as they pierced Muk Hajin’s openings.
‘Im… impossible! This is our family’s secret art! How can you…?!’
Muk Hajin was horrified.
Like a mirror—no, like a “master” within a mirror—Uncheon was perfectly countering his own martial art.
“The linkage between your forms is not smooth. When you reveal venomous fangs, you should be covert, yet you are too noisy.”
Uncheon even offered advice as he drove Muk Hajin back.
The final blow.
Losing his reason, Muk Hajin swung his fist in a large motion.
It was the form of Venom Fang Pierce, the most vicious ultimate technique of the Snake-Scorpion Exploding Scale Fist.
“Die!”
Uncheon let the fist slide past him by the breadth of a sheet of paper, then slipped into Muk Hajin’s chest.
“Even when I teach you… you cannot learn.”
As he entered Muk Hajin’s chest with that same speed, Uncheon thrust out his palm.
It was a heavy palm strike carrying the weight of the Iron Weight.
BANG—!
“Guhak!”
With a choked cry, Muk Hajin’s body rose into the air.
As if struck by a cannonball, the sturdy man’s body flew like a sheet of paper and slammed into the corridor wall.
“Guaagh…!”
Muk Hajin rolled across the floor with an expression of disbelief.
It was no simple defeat.
He had been thoroughly trampled with the martial art he was most confident in.
For Muk Hajin, it was the first humiliation of its kind.
“You… you bastard… How in the world did you use my family’s martial art…?”
Uncheon slowly approached him.
His gaze was that of a predator looking down at prey.
“Do not climb above your station while relying only on your family. Even that martial art you are so proud of is full of openings in my eyes.”
An overwhelming gap.
It was not a wall that could be surpassed through the halo of a family name or mere luck.
“…Kgh. You… monster.”
Hearing Uncheon’s cold rebuke, Muk Hajin lost consciousness once again.
Muk Hajin was not the only one shocked.
Yayul Hui’s eyes also widened.
‘…He stole the Sagal Muk Family’s martial art on the spot?’
It was talent enough to make gooseflesh rise.
Thinking that she had understood Uncheon until now had been a delusion.
Until now, she had only glimpsed a fragment of that talent.
After leisurely suppressing Muk Hajin, Uncheon remained calm, as if nothing had happened.
‘…He is definitely not at the level of a cadet.’
Yayul Hui felt the gap between herself and Uncheon.
“Are you leaving the Demonic Martial Hall now?”
“No. I am still under Instructor Gal Muheun. For the time being, I will be in the inner archive of the Demonic Martial Hall.”
“Wait for me. I will pass through Hidden Demon Cave soon and catch up to you.”
Yayul Hui said that, but at the same time, Uncheon’s talent felt a little frightening.
‘Perhaps… he may be beyond my elder brother….’
At that moment, Uncheon asked Yayul Hui, “By the way, have you not seen Yuha?”
“…Who knows? I do not think I have seen him since the evaluation either. Why not go to his stone chamber?”
“I suppose I should.”
It was strange that Yuha had not appeared even though there had been such a commotion.
Ordinarily, he would have appeared while making all sorts of meddlesome comments, yet he had vanished like smoke.
‘…Where did he go? He also showed results in the spar. Did he already leave for another organization?’
In the end, Uncheon returned empty-handed to his own stone chamber, only for his steps to freeze in front of the door.
Through the gap of the tightly closed stone door, a white scrap of paper protruded.
‘Could it be…?’
He carefully pulled it out and entered the stone chamber. On the opened letter, the recipient was written.
[To Uncheon.]
And beneath it, an unusual handwriting danced across the page.
‘I can tell just by looking at the script.’
The writing was elegant, as if water were flowing.
The strokes, written without any obstruction, carried ease and refinement.
But the ends of the characters—especially the final flicks—were sharp and keen like blades.
‘They say a person’s character is reflected in their writing….’
Like a cold blade hidden behind a gentle smile.
It was exactly the kind of handwriting that suited Yuha.
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