While the first exam was being held in various parts of the country.
A 'grading' was being conducted for the applicants who had passed the exam first and entered the alliance.
This was to form mission teams with a sense of fairness for the upcoming second exam.
It was an exam that evaluated the basic qualities a martial artist should possess, such as physique, movent skills, dynamic visual acuity, internal energy, and external energy.
For physique, the examiners literally kneaded the candidates' bodies here and there. They assigned a grade of A, B, C, or D, considering the thickness of the bones, the length of the limbs, the width of the shoulders, the length of the fingers, and so on.
Song Yiyeon, whose turn it was, stood with a nervous expression. His physique examiner was Zhuge Lin.
"I'll be in your care."
"Yes, well..."
Zhuge Lin, with a reluctant expression, extended her white hand.
The candidates assigned to other examiners looked at Song Yiyeon with envious expressions.
However, Song Yiyeon wore an indifferent expression even at the touch of a beautiful woman like Zhuge Lin.
It was because of his unique martial arts characteristics.
Zhuge Lin, who had been touching Song Yiyeon's body for a while, let out a deep sigh and said.
"Applicant Song Yiyeon, A..."
Song Yiyeon, who received the wooden plaque with 'A' written on it, smiled sweetly.
"Is it such a sigh-worthy thing that I received an A?"
"Of course not."
Although she said so, Zhuge Lin's expression was still reluctant.
Song Yiyeon waved two other wooden plaques in front of Zhuge Lin, in addition to the one he had just received.
They were the wooden plaques he had received after finishing the internal energy and movent skills evaluations, and both had 'A' written on them.
The nearby applicants looked at Song Yiyeon with envious eyes.
"That person will be the most famous this year."
"He's already famous. Look at that face. I heard his na is known not only among the applicants but also among the Martial Alliance mbers. Humanly speaking, if you're that handso, shouldn't your talent be lacking?"
"Oh, please let it be small there."
Sohow, Song Yiyeon had beco the public enemy of the male applicants. Regardless, just as Song Yiyeon was fully enjoying the envy and jealousy of his surroundings with a pleased face.
Boom!
With a trendous explosion, cheers and admiration erupted from the applicants there.
Naturally, Song Yiyeon's and Zhuge Lin's gazes also turned there.
"Wow, crazy!"
"Who's that?"
"I don't know, but they say he got 'A' in everything?"
Where everyone's attention was focused, a man stood with a calm face, and at his feet, gray powder was scattered.
The final evaluation of the grading, the external energy evaluation.
One had to break a rock much larger than an average man's torso by any ans necessary.
Song Yiyeon let out a hollow laugh and said.
"It's young hero Cheon Woojin. I told him to break the rock, and he turned it into powder..."
What was even more surprising was that what he held in his hand was not the black iron staff he always carried, but a white fan.
The middle-aged examiner who approached Cheon Woojin said with a sowhat dazed face.
"Can I ask you one thing?"
"Yes, well..."
"It would have been more advantageous to break it with the staff on your back, so why did you use the white fan?"
"It's fun, isn't it?"
"...Right."
At Cheon Woojin's calm answer, the examiner let out a hollow laugh.
It was certainly fun. A fan was not originally a weapon for external energy. But this rising talent hit the rock with a fan, and the rock shattered into pieces.
It was a scene he had never seen before, even after rolling around in the Martial Alliance for so long.
The middle-aged examiner looked at Cheon Woojin's face intently, as if to rember it, and handed him a wooden plaque with 'A' written on it.
"Congratulations. You received an A in all categories. Has it been about twenty years?"
The Martial Alliance's grading was quite rciless.
If you received an A in three categories, you were called a prodigy, four was a genius, and if you received an A in all five, you were considered a heavenly martial body.
It was because it was a talent that could see the end of any martial art you learned.
In the hundreds of years of history of the Martial Alliance selection exam, only five martial artists had received an A in all categories.
The most recent was a man who appeared like a cot twenty-three years ago and currently wields the greatest influence in the entire white path martial world.
The Martial Alliance Leader, Beili Tian.
The rising talents and examiners who recalled his na looked at Cheon Woojin with strange faces.
However, Cheon Woojin just scratched his head at the sudden attention.
It was then.
Boom!
On one side, a truly trendous explosion erupted.
Pieces of the rock, split into hundreds of pieces, rushed in all directions like hidden weapons.
The nearby instructors hurriedly blocked them.
Soon, the thick dust cleared, and a burly man who had broken the rock revealed himself.
A rising talent dressed in old-fashioned silk clothes, unlike his nacing impression that made one wonder if he was the leader of the black path.
He was dusting off the stone fragnts from his fist, which was the size of a cauldron lid, and was sohow glaring at Cheon Woojin.
"G-Gu Jinseok. A."
The young examiner handed him the wooden plaque, watching his expression.
Gu Jinseok, who took the wooden plaque without even giving him a glance, glared at Cheon Woojin and then started walking.
Thud, thud.
His enormous physique and unique ferocious aura.
The people gathered there tensed up automatically due to his rough atmosphere, which was too much for a rising talent of the white path.
However, Cheon Woojin just looked at him approaching with a dry face.
Soon, Gu Jinseok, who had co right in front of him, looked down at Cheon Woojin. Cheon Woojin was also taller than most n, but Gu Jinseok was so burly that he was at least two heads taller than Cheon Woojin.
Gu Jinseok said in a gruff voice that matched his physique.
"Cheon Woojin. A na I've never heard of."
It was a clear provocation. The applicants knew it, and the instructors were even debating whether to stop it.
However, Cheon Woojin didn't know. Basically, a provocation started with threatening the opponent, but he didn't feel any threat in the first place.
Cheon Woojin scratched his cheek with his index finger and said.
"Do you go around morizing everyone's nas?"
"...At least, if you were a master who could get 'A' in all categories without being a rising talent of the Five Great Families or the Nine Sects One Gang, you would have been famous already."
Gu Jinseok continued, as if for the other applicants to hear.
"Has anyone heard the na Cheon Woojin?"
Naturally, no one had.
Because Cheon Woojin had just co down from the mountain.
Gu Jinseok, who was watching the people's reactions, let out a smirk.
"Are you so disciple secretly raised by a great master in the mountains?"
Of course, it was a sarcastic remark. Because it was an absurd story that would only appear in martial arts novels. In reality, the majority of the masters who led the world were people with strong backgrounds.
However, Cheon Woojin looked at Gu Jinseok with a genuinely surprised face and fiddled with the Crescent Moon Staff on his back.
'How did he know?'
Gu Jinseok, who t his gaze, let out a hollow laugh.
"We'll see in ti. Either a new hero, or a spy infiltrated with a purpose from another group."
Gu Jinseok, of course, emphasized the latter.
He was saying that since a rising talent whose na and face were unknown had suddenly shown amazing results, the latter was more likely in reality.
On the one hand, it was also a remark that was trying to fra Cheon Woojin as a spy, so Song Yiyeon, who was listening, got angry and stepped forward.
The mont Song Yiyeon took a step.
"No, that son of a bitch..."
A small shadow brushed past Song Yiyeon. Song Yiyeon looked at Zhuge Lin's back with a dumbfounded face.
Zhuge Lin, who strode towards Gu Jinseok with rough steps, said.
"Applicant Gu Jinseok. What are you doing right now?"
"We were just having a little chat among the rising talents."
At his confident attitude, Zhuge Lin narrowed her eyes.
'Is he so kid with a great background?'
He was wearing quite expensive-looking clothes, unlike his appearance. Of course, it was just absurd, and his background couldn't oppress Zhuge Lin.
She was also a deputy commander of the Martial Alliance and a mber of the Zhuge family, one of the five great families of the white path.
"Is this just a conversation? Anyone can see you're picking a fight. Is the Martial Alliance that easy?"
"I am rely presenting a reasonable suspicion."
"Ah, that thing about being a spy? So you're saying the Martial Alliance is a group that can't even properly verify one applicant?"
"..."
Gu Jinseok shut his mouth.
Even Gu Jinseok, who was born into a decent family, had excellent martial talent, and lived like an arrogant person with his unique rough personality, couldn't openly belittle the Martial Alliance.
Zhuge Lin, who was glaring at Gu Jinseok, said to Cheon Woojin.
"Applicant Cheon Woojin, why are you just listening? You could at least refute it or leave the spot."
"Why?"
"Huh?"
Zhuge Lin said cautiously.
"Applicant Gu Jinseok is threatening you right now."
"Threatening ?"
Cheon Woojin blinked his eyes.
He knew he was picking a fight, but it wasn't particularly threatening.
And most of all...
"My master told
not to touch the weak carelessly."
Cheon Woojin, who said so, pointed at the five wooden plaques hanging from Gu Jinseok's waist.
Four A's and one B.
Gu Jinseok was the only one who received a B in the movent skills evaluation.
He was truly a talent that could be called a genius, but to Cheon Woojin, he was nothing more or less than a clumsy guy due to his physique.
Cheon Woojin said to the dumbfounded Zhuge Lin.
"Anyway, it seems like a commotion is starting because of , so I'll go to the temporary residence. The evaluation just ended anyway."
"...Oh, okay."
Zhuge Lin nodded with a dazed face.
The other instructors and applicants who were watching the commotion were the sa.
In the midst of it, Song Yiyeon burst out laughing.
"Wow, did that big guy know? That he would be treated as a weakling after receiving four A's."
At those words, the surrounding applicants burst out laughing.
Whatever kind of person Cheon Woojin was, the fact that Gu Jinseok, who had caused the commotion, had been put in his place was strangely satisfying.
Cheon Woojin left all that behind and headed to his residence, thinking.
'Should I just find the person quickly and go?'
He didn't originally plan to stay in the Martial Alliance.
It was just that he felt sorry to completely ignore it since his White Master had designed it this way, so he was thinking of at least taking the exam.
But it seed like tiring things would keep happening.
'Especially that Gu Jinseok guy, he's going to cause an accident soday...'
It was then.
He felt a fierce montum from behind.
Cheon Woojin turned around nonchalantly. The burly Gu Jinseok was openly releasing his killing intent. He was on the verge of rushing at him, and the surrounding instructors were wary of his sudden action.
- Woojin, my boy, a martial artist must protect the weak.
- You don't have to protect them, but those who pick on the weak are not villains, but morons.
It was what his two masters always said.
But one day, the conversation went in a different direction.
- But if the opponent is a martial artist and oppresses you, Woojin, by overestimating his own strength without a just reason, then the story is different, even if he is weak.
- You should kill those bastards without a second thought, what are you rambling on about?
The White Master always had many worries.
He wanted to teach Cheon Woojin goodness, but he was worried that there would be people who would take advantage of his disciple's nature after the two masters were gone.
As the Black Master said, the world was not full of only villains, but it was not full of only good people either.
After a long and rough discussion with the Black Master, the White Master succeeded in reaching a conclusion.
- If there is a martial artist who releases killing intent towards you, Woojin, even though you have done nothing wrong, then he can be said to be in the category of a villain.
- Hahahaha. Yes, you have to smash the heads of those bastards to get the right taste.
Cheon Woojin, who was recalling his masters' conversation for a mont, looked at Gu Jinseok blankly.
His killing intent was tickling his neck.
It wasn't particularly threatening, but it was obvious that it would beco annoying in the future if he left it as it was.
Since his masters' words had coincided for once...
Cheon Woojin took out the Crescent Moon Staff from his back.
At the sa ti, the surrounding air settled heavily.
Even though he was just standing still with the black staff hanging down, Cheon Woojin's presence pressed down on the entire training ground like a thick fog at night.
Even the instructors swallowed hard.
Even Zhuge Lin, who was watching this, unknowingly raised her energy slightly.
'...He's beco a completely different person.'
Cheon Woojin started walking, thud, thud.
Until he reached Gu Jinseok, no one could block his way.
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