The next day. I woke up to an excruciating pain that felt like my entire body was on fire.
“Damn it!”
A curse escaped my lips automatically.
It was because there wasn’t a single part of my body that was okay. Aches continued throughout my body as if I had muscle soreness everywhere, and my whole body trembled as if I had caught a bad cold.
“Still, it was worth it.”
My mana circuit was still dry, but it wasn’t in a state of being so withered and blocked as before.
If before it was like a crushed and pressed micro-tube, now it had expanded to the size of a small straw hole.
‘It’s thanks to [Transcendent Growth] and [Will of the Extre].’
If it weren’t for the two mythic-grade talents that grow when pushed to the limit, I would have died without being able to adapt to the suddenly opened mana circuit.
“By the way… what do I do?”
I had barely created the first circle, but there was still no answer.
The applicants for Murim Academy were all promising candidates. There was no guarantee that I could defeat them and pass with an ability I had awakened in just one day.
‘Of course, this was the best I could do.’
With this body, I couldn’t learn any proper martial arts, so it was an inevitable choice.
‘There’s no way I can pass through normal ans anyway.’
In that case, I had to make the most of the uniqueness of magic.
‘It’s not like I’m at a complete disadvantage.’
What I know right now is information about the exam.
‘I have no choice but to use this to the fullest.’
As I was lost in thought, the servant’s voice ca from outside the door.
“Young Master. It is ti for you to rise.”
It was finally the day of the exam.
If I fail here, I’ll be under house arrest.
‘…I absolutely must not fail.’
I was desperate, but I tried not to get nervous or scared beforehand.
I had already done everything I could before the exam. Now, all that was left was to prove it.
I dragged my weary body to the examination hall.
* * *
“There are so many.”
Looking at the square crowded with hundreds of people, I couldn’t help but frown.
Well, since graduates of Murim Academy could hold key positions in the Murim Alliance regardless of their origin or status, it was only natural to covet it.
‘There must be so famous people among them.’
Even those from prestigious families often ca to Murim Academy to overco the limitations of their succession order, just like Zhuge Cheonwu.
At so point, the murmuring voices in the square died down in an instant.
It was because a man with a sharp atmosphere had walked out onto the platform in front of the square.
“I am the exam supervisor, Jeongmuk. We will now begin the exam.”
His low voice, imbued with internal energy, already overwheld the crowd.
“The first test is simple. You just have to perform the basic cut of swordsmanship.”
With that, assistants set up targets in a line in front of the square.
It was a simple yet effective thod. Several ordinary straw bundles were stuck on stands, drooping.
Of course, it changed slightly with each exam, but the general frawork was similar.
Whether one was faithful to the basics or not. The riffraff who hadn’t even completed a single proper form would be filtered out here.
“Now, co out in order and cut. Those who pass will receive a naplate and proceed to the next examination hall.”
With those words, people were called out in order. The first target was a bundle of straw.
The challengers all drew their swords with faces that said it looked easy, but they were soon to be disappointed.
“Th-this is invalid! You didn’t say the straw was wet!”
‘I knew it. It was worth coming early.’
Since those who ca early were placed far from the platform, the exam was slightly more advantageous for those who ca early. A martial artist with good observation skills would be able to estimate the toughness of the straw.
Knowing this, I had deliberately stood at the back of the line. If I was called but couldn’t step forward, I would be disqualified on the spot.
I carefully watched the progress of the exam. The average pass rate was about 20%. The water-soaked straw bundles were tougher and harder than expected.
Even those who didn’t cut cleanly were disqualified, so there was a succession of failures from those who tried to pass with brute force.
“Fail!”
The voices of other supervisors continued, and soon it was my turn.
“Examinee, step forward!”
The supervisor reacted for a mont upon seeing my scabbard with the Zhuge family crest, but he soon pretended not to know and t my gaze.
“You cannot use your personal weapon. Use the prepared sword.”
That was the reason for the high number of failures. A dull iron sword.
Wet straw was difficult to cut even with a real sword, but they had to cut it with a sword that had almost no edge.
There were basically two conditions to pass this test.
‘Either execute a perfect cut, or have the strength and speed to cover for the lack of technique.’
Of course, I was neither. I sighed inwardly and picked up the sword without a word.
From the other side, I could hear the sound of those who didn’t use swords breaking stones, but I paid it no mind.
What I had to conquer now was that bundle of straw.
“Hoo.”
Just as I was about to raise my sword and take a stance, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly changed.
When I turned my head, a ray of light was disappearing there.
Thud.
The straw fell to the ground like a fallen leaf.
In fact, there was a thod other than the two conditions for passing the test ntioned earlier.
Sword qi.
For the single strike of a peak master who had honed their edge with compressed energy, the blade itself was aningless.
Long hair tied up neatly, a white martial arts uniform. I couldn’t see it well, but the plum blossom drawn on it probably ant he was a mber of the Mount Hua Sect.
‘An applicant of this skill level at this point in ti… is it Baek Cheong?’
The man who would later beco the number one sword of the Mount Hua Sect.
He was certainly amazing. Just by swinging his sword, the gazes of everyone around were focused on him.
Even Jeongmuk, who had been watching silently from the platform, threw in a word.
“…Clean.”
Baek Cheong, who quietly paid his respects and headed to the next examination hall. I was staring at his back when my eyes t with the examiner right in front of .
“Aren’t you getting ready?”
I cursed him inwardly.
Because it was my turn right after that guy, the gazes were piercing. At tis like this, my hearing seed to sharpen, and I could hear envious voices from behind.
“They say that’s the young master who caused trouble yesterday.”
“Tsk, just because he’s from one of the Five Great Families, he acts like a ruffian.”
My back felt prickly for no reason, but it couldn’t be helped. The urging of the examiner glaring at was more intense.
I raised the sword. It was quite heavy, so I could barely muster the strength to hold the blade up.
“Jeez, isn’t that a clumsy stance?”
“That’s ridiculous. And he calls himself a prestigious family?”
As they said, my current stance was too unstable. My lower body was weak, and the arm holding the sword was trembling slightly.
At that sight, the murmuring around continued.
“He’s done for.”
“There’s nothing more to see. Even a waiter from the marketplace would be better than that.”
At soone’s words, the attention on turned to ridicule.
“Hoo.”
But I didn’t care. I just focused on the target in front of .
Soon, the circle in my body began to spin wildly, and the mana in my body slowly started to be drawn out.
‘I’ll imitate sword qi.’
I thinly coat the sword with mana to add an edge. A feat impossible without the control of [Absolute Magic].
The amount was so small that even the supervisor right in front of couldn’t notice.
‘The problem is that I don’t have the strength to swing this.’
With the mana of the first circle, all I could do was raise the blade, so there weren’t many thods I could take.
‘Still, there is a way.’
Soon, I lowered my stance completely and placed the blade horizontally on the ground.
“What? Is he giving up?”
At those words, the exam supervisor narrowed his brow, and the surrounding ridicule grew louder.
Swish!
My sword swept the ground and cut down the straw that was in a straight line.
For a mont, the voices of ridicule stopped, and the only thing moving was the bundle of straw falling like a collapsed wall.
“…What the?”
It was a strike that made even Jeongmuk, who was watching from the platform, unconsciously gasp.
It could by no ans be called a good strike. The stance was a ss, and it wasn’t a properly powered attack either.
But the result was the complete opposite.
The entire bundle of straw tilted and then fell, cut so cleanly.
‘How did he do it?’
“It’s cut cleanly.”
The supervisor said, looking at the cross-section. Jeongmuk was flustered. Had there ever been a participant who passed in this way?
But what was more surprising was that the flash at the last mont was definitely sword qi.
‘It was an energy so faint that others couldn’t see it, but it was definitely sword qi.’
Jeongmuk’s expression hardened. This was a first.
The sword qi that Zhuge Cheonwu handled was too consistent for a beginner, and yet too faint for an expert.
‘An applicant can handle such a sophisticated sword qi?’
“Should we test him again?”
Another junior supervisor, who had read his mind, asked.
Of course, he was suspecting cheating.
But Jeongmuk had clearly seen it. The sword qi wavered, and the straw was cut.
He was a person of the orthodox faction who pursued fairness.
Just as he did not tolerate cheating, it was also not in his character to arbitrarily burden an examinee without evidence.
In the end, Jeongmuk shook his head.
“No, he passes.”
As soon as those words fell, Zhuge Cheonwu approached him. And then, as if completely drained of energy, he said with a pale complexion, letting his sword hang.
“Give the pass plaque.”
At that shalessness, as if he had been waiting, Jeongmuk made a dumbfounded expression.
* * *
‘What a relief.’
I sighed inwardly and took the pass plaque. In fact, the reason I was able to cut the straw in a single stroke was not because of the mana I had wrapped around the sword.
The thod I used was wind magic, one of the basic elental magics.
In this world, which was rich in the energy of the five elents instead of mana, it was a feat possible because I could naturally learn basic magic.
And so, while everyone’s attention was focused on Baek Cheong, I took the opportunity to sharply modify the first-circle wind magic and shot it several tis to cut the bottom of the straw.
‘It was difficult to cut the sa spot with the sa intensity multiple tis so that it wouldn’t fall, but I finally did it.’
In the first place, since the concept of magic itself was faint in this era, no one noticed the magic.
Moreover, the fact that I had done it under the platform, so that even Jeongmuk, who had a developed energy sense, couldn’t notice, was key.
‘If the magic had been activated where his line of sight could reach, it might have been dangerous.’
And so, with the straw almost completely cut by wind magic, I pretended to cut it by coating my sword with mana.
The result was this.
“Does that make sense? The straw was cut with such a clumsy stance??”
“Isn’t that cheating?”
The other exam participants murmured at my appearance. However, the pass plaque was already in my hand.
“Co this way.”
Following the guidance, the place I moved to was the second examination hall prepared behind the platform.
Across the table, the exam supervisors were each sitting. Of course, because of [Dulled Senses], I couldn’t see them clearly.
“Now, I will announce the content of the exam.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for the result.
One of the few things I rembered from the guide was that unlike the first exam, the second exam was random.
I could deal with all the other events sohow.
But among them, there was one event that I just couldn’t deal with.
‘Just don’t let it be a duel. Just not a duel….’
If I had a normal body, I could have created a chance of winning.
But with a body with a string of debuffs like this, I could never handle a duel that forced a long battle. So if there is a god, please….
“The second exam will be a duel.”
God is dead.
Right. I should have known when I entered this trash ga.
I sighed inwardly.
I can’t just despair. I had gone through all that trouble yesterday because I thought there might be a worst-case scenario like this.
While everyone was tense at the word ‘duel’.
Only I slowly walked forward towards the exam supervisors.
“Ho, you’re bold.”
“Are you going to be the first to duel? You’ll just be chaff anyway.”
“Look at his clothes properly, he’s from the Zhuge family, right? He must have a hidden ace up his sleeve. This is getting exciting.”
The exam supervisors reacted to my appearance in their own ways. They were the professors of Murim Academy.
But unfortunately, I had no martial arts that I had learned right now. The sa goes for any forms to display.
‘I’ll use it here.’
Soon, having reached right in front of the exam supervisors, I took out the platinum plaque from my bosom.
(End of Chapter)
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