The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Yi-gang arrived at the examination site.

It wasn’t difficult to find the place. It was like letting oneself be carried by the flow of a river; simply follow the crowd.

An examiner dressed in official attire double-checked Yi-gang’s name.

“You are in Group 221. Please turn around.”

As Yi-gang silently turned around, the examiner affixed a tag made of white paper on his back.

It was marked with the number 221.

“There will be groups of four. Two are already waiting under that sign over there, so find your group and wait.”

There were 221 groups, all with a four person group setup. This meant that nearly a thousand people had already applied. There was still a line behind Yi-gang, indicating intense competition.

「The air feels fresher with so many young people around.」

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon emerged from the ring and strolled leisurely, observing the aspiring successors dreaming of glory.

‘Talking like an old man, as usual.’

「It’s natural to feel proud as a senior of Jianghu watching the juniors.」

‘Juniors? Besides, all these kids are from orthodox sects.’

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon had been designated a public enemy by the Murim Alliance and was killed.

Yet, she smiled wryly as if enjoying the situation.

「You’re not going to be outside the top 15, are you?」

‘…’

He had no such intention.

Then, two young men, already with the 221 tags attached, greeted Yi-gang.

“Here you are!”

“Ah, hello…”

They were two distinctive-looking young men.

They greeted first with a traditional fist-and-palm salute.

“I’m Cho Myung-hwi from Heaven Sword Sect in Jiangxi! Pleased to meet you!”

“I’m… well, I don’t really belong to any sect. I’ve learned a bit of short stick. I’m from Guizhou… Ah! My name is So Woon.”

The young man named Cho Myung-hwi had a clear and bright aura in his eyes, clearly a remarkable successor. He was polite in speech and wore a blue warrior’s robe stylishly.

In contrast, the young man named So Woon seemed very timid.

He carried two unusual single-sticks crossed on his back but couldn’t look directly into people’s eyes.

“I am Baek Yi-gang from the Azure Forest.”

“Are you the Henan’s Sage?” Cho Myung-hwi asked with a chuckle.

“…It seems that nickname has spread.”

“That’s impressive!” So Woon exclaimed in admiration, and Cho Myung-hwi’s eyes sparkled too.

Yi-gang felt puzzled once again.

“It might sound odd to ask this, but is my nickname really that famous?”

“Didn’t you know? In Henan, there’s nobody who doesn’t know about Brother Baek.”

Cho Myung-hwi, who was of the same age as Yi-gang, casually addressed him as ‘Brother Baek’ with good-natured familiarity.

“The successor who impressively caught the Face Plunderer and received praise from the Governor, and whose talent was recognized by the Alliance Leader Divine Monk, who personally recommended your participation!”

The fact that Yi-gang uncovered the identity of the Face Plunderer was one thing, but that the Divine Monk had personally recommended his participation was known to few.

Yi-gang was now certain.

The spread of his name must have been influenced by Jo Gyu-seo and the Divine Monk.

He seemed to envision the smiling face of Jo Gyu-seo.

“Well… it turned out that way.”

Once the rumors had spread, there was no way to retract them. Moreover, it wasn’t a bad rumor.

Just then, a man with a massive build hurried over.

“Are you Group 221?”

“Yes, we are, and you are…?”

At Cho Myung-hwi’s question, the man introduced himself with a grin, “I’m Gu In-nam! I can’t reveal my sect; it’s a mysterious sect.”

“Mysterious… sect?”

The man using the alias ‘Gu In-nam’ was actually Peng Gu-in.

He had managed to catch up to Yi-gang with his astonishingly fast lightness skill.

Having finally gotten into the same group, he forgot his earlier struggles and smiled broadly.

The group members introduced themselves once again.

“Ha-ha, since Brother Gu is the eldest, he’s the big brother of our group. Please take good care of us. Feel free to speak casually.”

“Should I? Uhahaha.”

Peng Gu-in laughed heartily, like a bandit.

With so many people waiting, they had to wait quite a while for their turn.

Yi-gang was the type who didn’t mind standing still, but sometimes there were those who couldn’t stand such awkward silences.

Cho Myung-hwi was one of them.

“We have some time to kill. Why don’t we share our ambitions before the first round of the exam?”

“Ambitions?”

“Yes, Brother Gu. And there’s So Woon, who came all the way from Guizhou. Everyone here must have a reason for coming to the Murim Alliance.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea.”

“I’ll start.”

Cho Myung-hwi seemed most eager to speak.

“While entering the Five Elements Tomb is important, I want to make a name for myself.”

He aspired to earn a heroic name.

It might have been an embarrassing story for Cho Myung-hwi, but it couldn’t have been more clichéd.

「The orthodox kids always say that. Don’t they feel embarrassed?」

‘It’s possible. They’re young, after all.’

「Speaking like an old man again.」

The Blue-Eyed Mad Demon repeated Yi-gang’s earlier sentiment.

However, the reactions of Gu In-nam and So Woon were different.

“Well, if you’re a gallant hero, you should naturally aspire to gain a heroic name.”

“Th-that’s cool!”

Cho Myung-hwi smiled proudly.

Gu In-nam opened his mouth as if not to be outdone.

“I came here to become a true man.”

His statement was even more vague than Cho Myung-hwi’s.

Although it lacked originality, it was special simply because it was rare for someone to voice such a thought.

“A true man, you say?”

“Yes, a man with hot blood, or a great hero.”

The phrase “hot blood” was a sincere expression from Peng Gu-in.

It was the spirit of the Peng Clan to strive valiantly according to the family motto of “burning blood breaks iron.”

“Um, but…”

However, no one expected the seemingly timid So Woon to ask a question.

“What does it mean to be a true man?”

“Huh…?”

“Like a great hero, or being full of passion. I don’t really understand what those mean…”

He was very serious.

Peng Gu-in, about to laugh and reply, suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Normally, he would have talked about the spirit of the Peng Clan, but he was hiding his identity now.

Without the philosophy of the Peng clan, he surprisingly found himself without much to say.

“…To be manly is to be a man.”

“But how exactly does one become a man?”

“Well…”

One must be tall and sturdy, with a bushy beard, and muscles writhing on the arms and legs.

But surely, that couldn’t be all.

It was Yi-gang who came to the troubled Peng Gu-in’s rescue.

“A manly trait might be… even if we say that, maybe it’s about having hot blood.”

“What do you mean?”

“Not yielding to the pressure of others and achieving your goals.”

“Yes, that’s it!”

Peng Gu-in clapped his hands in agreement.

Yi-gang hadn’t expected to suddenly intervene and explain.

「Why suddenly butt in?」

‘Just because.’

Yi-gang couldn’t admit that he too wanted to live that way.

“I, Gu In-nam, came here to become such a man.”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” So Woon exclaimed in admiration.

Peng Gu-in smiled and asked in return.

“You said your name was So Woon. What about you?”

“Well, my father told me. He said to become a proper man and come back.”

“Hmm…”

“But I don’t really know what to do or how to do it.”

Peng Gu-in inwardly clicked his tongue. From what he saw, it seemed difficult for Yi-gang to become a man of passionate blood.

It was finally Yi-gang’s turn.

Feeling the attention on him, he replied quietly, “I aim to pass the exam and enter the Five Elements Tomb.”

It was a straightforward and rather stark answer.

He chose not to mention his deeper goals, like finding something within the conference or receiving inner elixirs to recover his frail body.

“That sounds more like a reason than an ambition, huh.”

Peng Gu-in snorted, thinking, ‘As expected, I don’t like this guy.’

The atmosphere turned subtly awkward.

Fortunately, a commotion broke out just then.

“Catch him!”

Members from the Murim Alliance Inspection Squad swarmed towards a man.

The man tried to fend them off with his arms and legs, but the members’ martial arts skills were superior.

Someone struck the man’s acupressure points, forcing him to kneel.

“Argh, wh-what are you doing!”

“Seal his pressure points, take him away.”

Incapacitated by the sealing of his pressure points, the man couldn’t move at all.

Despite being incapacitated, the man’s mouth was still free, and he yelled defiantly, “How dare the Murim Alliance commit such atrocities?”

“Shut your mouth!”

“Are you disregarding my sect, the Mendicant Hall, because it’s small?”

One of the inspection team officers, who seemed to be the leader, laughed scornfully, “Mendicant Hall? Do you think we wouldn’t recognize you as a member of the Bandit Mountain Manor?”

“…!”

The man’s face turned pale.

Even if the Mendicant Hall was an unknown sect, the Bandit Mountain Manor was a well-known name among the unorthodox sects.

Based at the foot of Mount Lao in Shandong Province, this sect was notorious for its cruel methods in that region.

“You will be interrogated by the Law Enforcement Hall. We need to check if you are a spy from the Unorthodox Union.”

“A spy? That’s a misunderstanding! I have nothing to do with the Bandit Mountain Manor!”

The man’s denial was futile.

Then someone with a hoarse voice interjected, “The calluses on only your left hand suggest that you practiced Black Clash Hand of the Bandit Mountain Manor. The deeper imprints of the little toe on your right foot indicate training in the Light Mountain Step.”

The old man who appeared was oddly peculiar in appearance.

He was very short, almost as if he had dwarfism, with a bulging back of the head. His long goat beard hung down to his navel, making him an unforgettable sight.

“All-knowing Master!”

“Why is the All-knowing Master here…!”

The All-knowing Master, Yeom Gyo-cheon—

He was one of the most extraordinary figures in the vast Jianghu.

He was famous not for his martial prowess but for his reputation, which has its reasons.

True to his nickname, the All-knowing Master was renowned for knowing everything. While his martial prowess was first-rate, he was more famous for his extensive knowledge of numerous sects and martial arts techniques.

He was adept in formations, mechanical traps, scriptures, and scholarly knowledge, said to be able to comprehend a subject just by looking once.

Neither belonging to the orthodox nor the unorthodox, his appearance with the Murim Alliance Inspection Squad seemed to dishearten the member of the Bandit Mountain Manor.

“I just came out of curiosity about the Five Elements Tomb. I am definitely not a spy for the Unorthodox Union!”

“We’ll see about that after the interrogation. Take him away!”

The man was dragged away limply by the inspection squad members.

The venue was abuzz. Yi-gang and his group were no exception.

“So it’s true that the All-knowing Master was employed by the Heaven’s Secret Scholar… “

“W-what a terrifying-looking person…”

“He might have come to catch any possible spies from the Unorthodox Union. I heard he’s directly overseeing this selection exam.”

It was Peng Gu-in who responded to Cho Myung-hwi’s comment.

“All-knowing Master? Why?”

“Perhaps because the Five Elements Tomb has many mechanical traps and devices. So, in selecting successors, they consider not just martial skills but other aspects as well.”

This was something Peng Gu-in hadn’t anticipated. Could this be a deviation from his plan?

Suddenly, So Woon interjected, “That man, he’s looking at us.”

“What?”

Turning around, they saw the All-knowing Master, standing among the inspection team officers, staring intently at Yi-gang and his group.

People generally didn’t like their inner thoughts exposed. And here was the All-knowing Master, known to discern everything with just one glance, staring at them, making Peng Gu-in and the others subtly avert their eyes.

Only Yi-gang continued to look directly at the All-knowing Master.

「What’s he staring at, that ugly old man.」

‘Can he see you?’

「No, he can’t.」

Even as the Blue-Eyed Mad Demon rushed towards him, making ridiculous gestures, the All-knowing Master didn’t notice.

Soon, the All-knowing Master tilted his head and then resumed his conversation with the inspection squad members.

Only then did Peng Gu-in speak irritably, “If this exam is set by him, it’s going to be really annoying.”

Cho Myung-hwi laughed and replied, “Still, the first round of the exam is as previously announced. Brother Gu, you’ll pass easily, won’t you?”

“Is that so? Uhahaha. Of course! A man like me!”

It was welcome news for Peng Gu-in.

He stroked his arm muscles, pleased.

Then he glanced at Yi-gang.

‘If he can’t even pass this exam, I’ll separate him from Mu-ah, even if it earns me hatred.’

The first round was disadvantageous for Yi-gang.

It was a test of physical strength.

“Group 221! Come over here!”

The place where the examiner called Yi-gang’s group was in front of a massive boulder.

The rock, easily weighing around 200 kg, was smoothed to the point that grabbing it was difficult.

It was a well-known feature used in the Dragon-Phoenix Conference and the Seven Stars Conference of the Murim Alliance.

“First, we’ll test your strength. You need to lift this rock and carry it across that log bridge.”

Crossing a log bridge with a heavy boulder was no easy task.

Looking at Yi-gang’s thin arms, it seemed impossible for him to even lift it, let alone walk with it.

“Hurry up, we don’t have much time. Start from there.”

And to make matters worse, Yi-gang was the first one called.

Peng Gu-in watched Yi-gang with anticipation.

Yi-gang rubbed his hands in sand, then shook it off.

It looked like something he had seen somewhere.

Then he bent over and firmly grasped the rock.

“Hup.”

Indeed, he thought he might be able to lift it.

Despite looking frail, he seemed to have learned martial arts. Peng Gu-in had even considered the possibility that Yi-gang might barely pass the first round.

But Peng Gu-in didn’t expect Yi-gang to lift the rock so easily.

Not just up to his waist, but high above his head.

「Great Yin Flow, is this really martial arts?」

‘It’s the secret art of physical power.’

The Great Yin Flow, created by the Immortal Divine Sword after a lifetime of dedication.

Peng Gu-in hadn’t expected Yi-gang to have already mastered the third stage, the secret art of physical power.

“Wow… impressive.”

“He looks so thin…”

Admiration burst forth towards Yi-gang.

The examiner also widened his eyes, waiting for Yi-gang to cross the log bridge.

No one expected Yi-gang to suddenly hurl the boulder across.

The rock flew over the log bridge and landed on the sandy area on the other side.

Boom!

It was so heavy that when it hit, sand erupted with a loud noise.

This time, not even exclamations of admiration came out.

“P-pass!”

Only the examiner said so, raising the flag.

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