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Chapter 99. The ‘Third’ Trial of the Hell Regular Exam (2)
“Truly, I cannot help but be surprised.”
Maeng Ju-won exclaimed in admiration while looking at the report on Jegal So-myeong’s office desk.
“…….”
Jegal So-myeong was curious.
Why was it that most of Mantongbu’s people were so busy they could not pay attention to anything else, yet every time he saw that bastard, he was always doing something else?
“Grand Strategist, have you seen this?”
The document Maeng Ju-won held out was a report sent up from the branch where the third trial was being held. Naturally, Jegal So-myeong had not reviewed it yet.
Jegal So-myeong considered scolding him once, then shook his head.
If that bastard was doing something else, it meant he had already done more than the work he had to do.
“What is it?”
“It is a report from the Murim Alliance’s Nanyue Branch.”
Of course it was.
At some point, that bastard Maeng Ju-won had become unable to stop paying attention to Jin So-un.
“Is this about Jin So-un again?”
“No. It is a report about the incident that occurred on the Puyang Plain.”
“Did the Heavenly Eye Pavilion not already report on that?”
“It is about the inside story of that incident. Are you not interested?”
“……Bring it here.”
Jegal So-myeong put down the documents he had been processing and sprang up from his seat. Was this truly a report that could have come up this quickly already?
The Nanyue Branch Chief was a person connected to the Righteous Path Association.
If it was an important report, he would report through the Righteous Path Association, not Mantongbu.
In the end, Jegal So-myeong had thought he would only be able to grasp the inside story of the incident after the Murim Alliance’s investigation team had been dispatched, but that report had already arrived.
“As expected, there was a culprit.”
“A culprit?”
After receiving the report from Maeng Ju-won, Jegal So-myeong quickly read through it.
From the date and time the incident occurred, to a brief account of the inside story, and even a detailed explanation of the actual situation at the time of the incident, it was a report rarely seen in recent times.
“They say a young lady named Namgung Seon-hwa drafted the report.”
If it was Namgung Seon-hwa, that made sense. The format of reports used within the Namgung Clan was likely similar to that of the Murim Alliance.
“Witchcraft that uses darkness?”
However, the contents that followed were not easy to believe.
“Could it be that what we predicted was correct?”
“Hmm…….”
One could not believe everything based solely on a report. Such absurd stories were sometimes caused by Bewildering Soul Incense or hallucinations.
“If you look at the end of the report, it says they will send evidence by courier.”
A strange corpse with hard black skin like animal hide and a sword emerging from its palm.
It was not easy to imagine merely by reading the words.
As Jegal So-myeong read the report, he tilted his head.
“But they are sending this evidence to Mantongbu?”
If this was real, and if it was important enough, there was no way the Nanyue Branch Chief would simply let this opportunity pass.
If he delivered the evidence he had secured to Mantongbu through the Righteous Path Association, he could strengthen both his own status and the Righteous Path Association’s influence.
“Huh, will the sun rise in the west?”
It reached the point where he even suspected they might all have taken some medicine together.
At that moment, Maeng Ju-won shook his head.
“That is not it, Grand Strategist.”
“What?”
“If you look closely, it says our So-un proposed ten gold taels, does it not?”
Jegal So-myeong himself had let out a laugh at that part.
That Nanyue Branch Chief bastard had been struck once by Jin So-un.
On the other hand, he did not like the act of inserting money into a matter of great importance to the Murim Alliance.
“Look carefully. Did he not tell them to use the ten gold taels for the dead and wounded of the Puyang Plain?”
“Yes.”
“Then is that not all a measure taken for the sake of our Mantongbu?”
“…….”
Jegal So-myeong looked at Maeng Ju-won as though looking at a drunken man rambling nonsense.
“The ten gold taels are not money the Nanyue Branch Chief would spend privately, are they?”
“No.”
“Then the money must be spent at the branch level, and for that to happen, they must submit the report properly, must they not?”
“…….”
“If it were me, I would have done this so the information would not leak midway. Just like So-un.”
It sounded plausible, but somehow, the interpretation seemed better than the dream itself.
In any case, since they would receive the evidence directly, they could now accelerate the investigation into the culprit.
It truly was not just one or two things that were changing because of Jin So-un.
“Grand Strategist. I don’t think this is the time for this. How about we just bring our So-un to Mantongbu?”
The way Maeng Ju-won spoke truly seemed anxious. It was a look he had never shown even once while working.
“What if those ignorant bastards in the third trial hit him and injure his head? And after the third trial? In that Great Journey of Avici Screams, will our So-un truly be all right……?”
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“Hey.”
“Yes? ……Ah! I finished all my work. On top of that, I also handled the tasks you had not mentioned in advance, Grand Strategist.”
“…….”
Maeng Ju-won preempted him. Maeng Ju-won was looking at Jegal So-myeong with a bright smile.
Jegal So-myeong tilted his head crookedly.
“Your tone is extremely insolent.”
“Yes?”
“Brother! I knew you would come.”
Jin So-un’s group, who had entered the Murim Alliance’s Nanyue Branch, met a familiar face.
“Jae-hwa?”
“Yes! It is me, Brother!”
Murong Jae-hwa approached excitedly, as though he had met a long-lost brother.
Then, as though he had become close to them while staying at the Taeul Sect, he also exchanged greetings with the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers.
“Hey, do you not see us?”
At Seong Mo-ran’s rough tone, Murong Jae-hwa flinched in surprise and turned around.
“Huk! Sister Mo-ran, Sister Seon-hwa?”
“You have lost discipline after not seeing us for a while.”
When Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran, who also seemed acquainted with Murong Jae-hwa, teased him, Murong Jae-hwa looked flustered.
“Um…… but.”
Murong Jae-hwa cautiously spoke while watching the two young ladies’ reactions.
“Did the two of you fail to pass the first trial and second trial?”
“Hm?”
“What are you talking about?”
At the two women’s questions, Murong Jae-hwa’s face became even more startled.
“Then you did come to take the third trial?”
“Of course. What do you take this older sister for?”
“Jae-hwa, I am not that weak.”
The two spoke as though it were obvious. Murong Jae-hwa’s face became even more dumbfounded.
“In that state?”
“…….”
“…….”
The third trial of the Murim Regular Exam was decided through duels.
Those who had passed the first trial and second trial gathered together, designated opponents, fought duels, and only the winner received a Third Trial Token.
Those who possessed enough skill to pass the first and second trials had to fight duels as though they had met life-and-death enemies, yet Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran looked exactly like people who had come on an outing, so he had said that.
“Wh-What are you talking about, Jae-hwa? This is how I usually look.”
“Yes? What do you mean…….”
“You remember, do you not? I looked like this even when I trained with you.”
The corners of Namgung Seon-hwa’s mouth, which usually never lost its smile, trembled. She approached Murong Jae-hwa and gently placed a hand on his arm.
At the sudden pain that assaulted him, Murong Jae-hwa screamed.
“Uwaat!”
“Oh my? What is wrong? Did you get hurt somewhere during the first trial or second trial?”
Murong Jae-hwa looked at Namgung Seon-hwa with frightened eyes while feeling pain as though his flesh were being torn off.
-Hey! Do you want to die?
At that moment, thunder rang inside Murong Jae-hwa’s head.
The one who had sent a Sound Transmission was none other than Seong Mo-ran.
-If you look that surprised, it will be obvious.
Murong Jae-hwa quickly lowered his head.
-If you say anything useless, this is what happens.
Behind Jin So-un, Seong Mo-ran drew a line across her throat with her thumb.
Murong Jae-hwa could not understand at all why this was happening, but for now, he decided the priority was to change the subject.
“B-Brother, you came to register, correct?”
“Hm? Yes. But why are you sweating so much?”
“Ah, haha. W-Well, I suppose it is because I met so many people I was glad to see after such a long time.”
The opponents in the third trial were decided by having those who arrived first designate those who arrived later. That was why Jin So-un’s group had hurried their steps diligently from the morning.
“There are quite a lot of people here for that.”
“Some people came and waited from the previous day.”
Just as Murong Jae-hwa said, warriors from each sect were gathered in clusters all over the main drill yard of the Nanyue Branch.
In places with few people, there were groups of three or four, while in places with many, hundreds were gathered.
“The first to arrive was Shaolin.”
Nearly twenty people with smooth bald heads were examining each person who entered the drill yard.
They were searching for suitable opponents.
“What about you? Have you chosen?”
“I am still waiting because there is no suitable person yet.”
Seong Mo-ran struck Murong Jae-hwa lightly on the head.
“don’t worry about things like that and just fight anyone. They are all the same anyway.”
“Sister, that is why you always…… Ah, no. In any case, you know well that the third trial requires a more intense battle of wits than ever.”
“But is that not Wudang over there?”
On the martial arts uniforms of those gathered in front of the registration desk, there were white clouds symbolizing Wudang drawn in common.
“Wudang usually goes to Shaanxi Province often. What happened?”
“That is exactly what I mean. Hubei Province is always brutally competitive because of Shaolin as it is, and now even Wudang has joined in.”
There were five people who appeared to be examinees.
They seemed to be on a different level from the other examinees.
“Hm? Have they already chosen opponents?”
“That is strange. It is still the first day, so not all the examinees have even arrived yet.”
The disciples of the Wudang Sect began leaving the main drill yard in unison.
“Young Master Jin, Young Master Jin!”
Seong Mo-ran urgently called Jin So-un.
“What is it?”
“Lower your eyes.”
“Pardon?”
“Young Master Jin, your eyes look a little rebellious, so you might offend Wudang.”
“…….”
“In the third trial, the best thing is to fight someone weaker than you no matter what.”
“…….”
At that moment, the young man standing at the very front of the Wudang Sect stopped walking and looked at Jin So-un’s group.
At their sudden action, Geum-pyo and Murong Jae-hwa, who had been blankly looking at them, flinched in surprise.
“Wh-What is this?”
“Are they trying to come back in?”
“Do they perhaps know Sister Namgung Seon-hwa or Sister Seong Mo-ran?”
Geum-pyo looked at the two women, but the two merely shook their heads slightly.
The young man who had approached near Jin So-un’s group looked around, then stopped his gaze on Jin So-un.
“You must be Jin So-un.”
“…….”
“I am Hyeon Su of Wudang.”
Jin So-un also had no idea why Hyeon Su of Wudang was suddenly calling him.
“I am Hyeoncheong’s Senior Brother.”
“Is that so?”
When Jin So-un answered indifferently, Hyeon Su’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Hyeoncheong moved together with Yeon U-mun of Mount Hua to catch you.”
Along with Hyeon Su, other examinees who seemed to be his junior brothers quietly approached his side.
All of them were giving off momentum like dragons.
“Yet my Junior Brother cannot be contacted, and you have arrived here.”
“So?”
Hyeon Su’s eyebrow twitched again.
“……I want to know what happened.”
Jin So-un tilted his head and asked.
“Were you not taught to be polite when you want something from someone?”
The faces of Hyeon Su and the other Wudang Sect disciples hardened.
“Did you think the other party would answer favorably if you spat informal speech at them the first time you met?”
“……Hyeoncheong is a younger brother to me, like my own blood.”
“Then you should have asked even more politely. How can you ask so rudely about the whereabouts of someone who came to kill me?”
Each time Jin So-un spoke, the Gold, Silver, and Bronze brothers subtly moved farther away from his side.
Namgung Seon-hwa and Seong Mo-ran also seemed unable to adapt and slowly moved farther away. On the other hand, only Murong Jae-hwa moved closer, as though filling the empty space.
“There is no reasoning with you.”
At Hyeon Su’s sigh, the other disciples opened their eyes fiercely.
However, unlike the people outside the branch, they did not particularly exercise force.
“In the end, you will have no choice but to speak.”
With those words, Hyeon Su and the other Wudang Sect disciples left the main drill yard.
Seong Mo-ran, who had been tense, let out a long sigh.
“What exactly is wrong with you? I told you just now. Are you that desperate to fight?”
“No. Rather, I don’t want to fight.”
“Then why are you acting like that?”
“If I don’t act like this, then from now on, they will treat my junior brothers, and the Taeul Sect’s disciples, like this, will they not? If so, it is better that I fight on their behalf.”
“…….”
At Jin So-un’s words, Seong Mo-ran looked at him with a strange gaze.
“Now, let us hurry in and register.”
“Y-Yes.”
The area in front of the registration desk was quiet.
There were not many examinees who had arrived at the branch yet, and some deliberately delayed registration in order to engage in an intense battle of wits.
After everyone in Jin So-un’s group completed registration, Jin So-un spoke to the Scholar Alliance Member.
“We will choose our opponents after seeing the people who enter.”
“Hm?”
The Scholar Alliance Member flipped through the documents, then shook his head.
“The examinees from the Taeul Sect have already all had their opponents decided.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean that there were people who registered and left as soon as you entered the branch.”
“What does that mean……. We just…….”
Eun-ho, who had been speaking, could not continue.
“Who are they?”
At Jin So-un’s question, the Scholar Alliance Member turned the documents around and showed them to Jin So-un’s group.
“What is this…….”
The group could not hide their astonishment when they saw the list.
● Third Trial Matchups
Wudang Sect’s Hyeon Su – Taeul Sect’s Jin So-un
Wudang Sect’s Hyeon Myeong – Taeul Sect’s Geum-pyo
Wudang Sect’s Hyeon Hyang – Taeul Sect’s Eun-ho
Wudang Sect’s Hyeon Jin – Taeul Sect’s Dong-ryong