episode_0316

*** ***

“What are you thinking, Ho Cheon-an? I can’t believe you made such a big deal out of it.”

Today too, Yoo Yu-yeon, who was invited to various places and was forced to engage in diplomatic activities, said that while leaning back on her chair as if she was tired.

“The current anxiety among the Sichuan clans is no joke. I heard everyone was anxious that their students would be taken away? Are you afraid of passing the exam and then moving on alone?”

“Is it okay to participate wearing clan uniform as long as I use bamboo ribs? Please tell me that I can get away with just raising my reputation.”

I was sincere, but all I got in return was Yu Yu-yeon’s cold gaze.

“What is the purpose? It is also the case that the ten people selected at the end are given the option of not being able to become Sichuan Ronin. Why are you giving the selector a hole to escape?”

“That’s because the purpose is not to select them.”

“What?”

I comforted Yu Yu-yeon, made her sit down, and began to explain.

“Now, calm down and think. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about recruiting Sichuan ronin. Now you may be wondering what I’m talking about. In the end, most of the talent that could be discovered in Sichuan Province was discovered because of the individual secret martial arts competition, right?”

“…That’s right.”

Yu Yu-yeon agreed.

The personal martial arts competition was a stage where anyone could show off their martial arts skills by simply paying a small registration fee. It doesn’t cost a lot of money and you can make money depending on the situation, so anyone who is willing to do it can participate.

In other words, it was said that the discovery of all second-rate, first-class, and peak-level talents who could become a force had been completed.

“It is quiet now that the Sect faction forces have been wiped out, but Sacism warriors will continue to flock to Sichuan Province. Even if we hire experts from within Sichuan Province, in the end, the total amount of Sichuan Province forces will be the same.”

It is a fighting force to fight against political faction forces, Sacheon Rangin, and eventually the inflow of Sapa warriors. If you hire someone from within Sichuan Province, you can immediately reject requests, but from a long-term perspective, it is like spinning a treadmill without making any progress.

“Hmm…keep going.”

“Sipa forces are constantly inflowing from outside, but what about Sichuan Province? Due to the nature of political waves, it is not easy to increase power.”

This was the fundamental reason why Sacheon forces were overflowing in Sichuan Province before I came. The initial response of the inexperienced factions of Sichuan Province was problematic, but in the end it was just a matter of time, and the current structure of Sichuan Province was such that the political faction forces were bound to be pushed out at some point.

The hostile forces are constantly being recruited from outside, but the forces in Sichuan Province have to suck their fingers until the mites become masters.

Although political factions also accept guest experts, there are few people who prefer guest experts. Because the core of the political faction is not people but martial arts. No matter how expert you are, you cannot become the center of a sect unless you learn the core martial arts of that sect.

“Are you saying that Rongin Gaekjan should actively accept outside experts?”

“Okay.”

External forces from outside Sichuan Province are recruited as Sichuan Longin.

However, there were prerequisites that needed to be resolved in order to recruit outside experts to the Sacheon League.

That was the bad perception about Sichuan people that was spread outside.

It’s a situation where there is no one in the entire Moorim community who doesn’t know what Jeongcheol went through in the past. In addition to the rumors about Jeong Cheol, the treatment of Sichuan people in the past has also spread.

“These days, Sichuan Longin is a hot potato in the martial arts world, but I don’t think that Sichuan Longin is a particularly attractive job. Because there are so many negative rumors about Sacheon Rongin.”

“Are you going to dispel all such perceptions with this new recruitment test?”

“Yes.”

Rumors do not spread unless they are provocative. News of the proclamation of Jeongcheol, the conflict between the political faction and the Saha faction, and the appearance of Noegeomnangin spread like lightning, but this lukewarm story that Sichuan people’s perspective on Sichuan nangin has changed cannot even become a rumor.

A provocative rumor was needed to completely dispel the negative perception of Sichuan people that had accumulated throughout the entire martial arts world.

“Thousands of young people gathered and competed in the recruitment of new Sichuan nangin, who were known to be treated with contempt in Sichuan Province! Is this rumor really true? What really happens in Sichuan Province?”

“….That’s right.”

Yu Yu-yeon nodded.

“If such a rumor spreads, ronin and samurai wandering around the country will flock in saying they want to become Sacheon ronin, and we only have to hire those who are useful among them?”

“That’s right!”

“And the jade stones revealed during the selection process are deliberately released so that the Sichuan clans can take them and raise them?”

“Yes. To be honest, can we pick up promising players and nurture them? Do you hope there is some martial arts training you can give them, or some systematic training method? There’s nothing I can do for you.”

“Hmm..”

Yoo Yu-yeon thought about something for a moment and muttered.

“Not enough.”

“Hmm?”

“If you really want to suck in experts from outside, you should show that there are Sichuan ronin at the center of Sichuan province, rather than lukewarm rumors like improving the perception of ronin. Wouldn’t that be enough to recruit the right experts?”

“Well, that’s not true.”

“And it’s good to discover promising talent, but as it stands now, it’s not smooth to transfer those promising players to another school.”

The point that Yoo Yu-yeon pointed out was something I was also concerned about. In the end, the picture is not true as those who applied for the Sichuan Nangin exam ended up going to different clans.

“Well, isn’t this something that can’t be helped? In the end, everything that has been done now is part of the process of selecting Sichuan people.”

“Yes. This is an unavoidable part of the Sacheon Ronin test, and this is the limit to the power of only Ronin Gaekjan.”

Yu Yu-yeon raised her voice.

“Everyone gather!”

Yoo Yu-yeon, who gathered together Sacheon nangin and brokers, explained his plan.

I thought about it while listening to the plan.

Things will get twice as big.

*** ***

The morning of the second exam.

A large crowd lined up and headed toward the north gate.

“There are over a thousand people who passed the first test?”

“If all those people are eliminated and only 500 remain, the competition will be quite fierce!”

The crowd burst into exclamation as soon as they entered the north gate.

“ya!”

“When did you prepare all this!”

This was because a stadium lined with various obstacles had been prepared in the open space at the North Gate.

It wasn’t just the stadium that was prepared.

Many successful candidates were also prepared, although their facial expressions could not be seen because they were wearing bamboo lips, but they were able to control their tension with just their body language.

As soon as a Sichuan ronin stepped up to the podium, the crowd, sensing that the second preliminary round was about to begin, cheered and welcomed the sacheon ronin.

Wow!!

“Nice to meet you. Everyone from Dongdo, Sacheon Province. And to all of you who passed the first round.”

After giving a formal greeting, the Sichuan ronin went straight to the main topic.

“As you can see, the second preliminary round is an ‘obstacle race’. We will guide you through what to keep in mind while running an obstacle race. Intentionally disrupting your opponent will result in immediate elimination. If you fail while trying to overcome an obstacle, you must return to the starting point and try again.”

Because it was a common sense rule, the participants nodded.

“Please look at the floor in front of you.”

On the floor of the stadium that Sacheon Rongin pointed to, there were rows of cells with the numbers 1 to 50 written on them.

“50 people per line.”

After that, there was a long line with strings attached to stakes by the staff.

“10 lines like that. A total of 500 people. The test taker’s goal today is to be in that list.”

gulp!

Someone swallowed dry saliva.

“A total of 1,241 people passed the second preliminary round, and a total of 1,183 people took the exam.”

People burst out in exclamation at the mention of specific numbers.

“The test process is very simple.”

When Sichuan Rongin raised his hand, the staff removed the line drawn on the floor.

Games will be played on a first-come, first-served basis until the seats indicated by “ are filled. One row was just removed, leaving 1,150 seats where 1,200 could stand.”

The participants had a hunch.

This isn’t something that can be solved in one or two laps!

“Then let’s start the test.”

ridge! ridge! ridge!

The drum sounded and the candidates ran vigorously.

Wow!!

The first obstacle was simple. All I had to do was go up and down stairs made of wood. The candidates jumped over the first obstacle without hesitation.

The second obstacle was a stepping stone made of logs. From the second obstacle onwards, people sometimes fell.

They couldn’t help but bite their lips and make embarrassed expressions.

The line was long as more than 1,000 people tried to cross the obstacle, and they had to go back to the end to stand in line.

“ Hey, it’s important not to make this mistake, right?”

The third obstacle was the rainbow bridge.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh!”

Some people lost their arm strength in the middle or were unable to hold the bar properly, and many people fell down.

The participants passed the fourth crawl zone, passed the fifth parallel zone, held on to the rope and climbed the hill obstacle, exhaling heavily and thinking.

it’s tough!

Candidates who started as latecomers were internally dissatisfied with starting the game at a disadvantage, but their dissatisfaction subsided from the middle of the game.

“Gasp!”

“Ugh! I’m dying!”

“Aaaah!”

The second test, which involves running over a distance of 300 and passing six obstacles, was a first-come-first-served test, and the difficulty of completion alone was a differentiator.

Those who managed to finish the race stood at the place where their turn number was written and gasped.

“I will finish the first race.”

Those who failed to clear each gate bitterly left the stadium with tired limbs.

“972 people survived the first race.”

When the Sichuan rongin raised his hand, the staff untied the rope. The successful candidates in the rear stiffened their faces in black as the line marking where they stood disappeared.

“Wow…”

“It’s bloody.”

The sight of the line being removed while testers were standing had a completely different feel from the previous situation where the line was being removed when no one was standing.

And the crowd’s excitement gradually grew.

This was because the line that the staff unraveled was not just one line.

“Huh?”

“That much?”

One line, two lines, three lines, then up to four lines at once.

172 participants stood outside the line!

“The number of people passing this time is 800.”

ridge! ridge! ridge!

Wow!!

The participants ran with the risk of death.

The audience cheered at Sacheon Rongin’s exciting progress.

Unlike the first edition, the race was held in a calm atmosphere.

‘As long as you don’t make a mistake, you won’t be pushed to the rear!’

‘Just completing this obstacle race is enough to get you into the passing line.’

This was because the focus was on overcoming obstacles rather than competition. Regardless of the ranking, you had to complete the race to be able to stand inside.

Is it because everyone was not in a hurry and was able to manage their stamina?

Unlike the first edition, the total number of participants was 800, and participants who came in late took off their hats with a disappointed look.

“No? Isn’t he the son of the apothecary Jang?”

“Huh, it was a shame.”

Finding out the identities of the eliminated contestants was also a bit of fun for the audience.

While the audience took off their hats and guessed the identity of those leaving the stadium, the staff removed the rope again.

“The number of people who passed this time was 650. As I said at the time of passing the first preliminary round, the higher your rank in the finals, the more advantageous you will be in the finals.”

“I would like to recommend that candidates who want to get a high rank take a front row seat in this edition.”

Not only those at the front, but even those at the bottom of the mid-tier had their eyes shining.

This was because there were also people who were in the middle or lower ranks in order to strategically preserve their physical strength.

ridge! ridge! ridge!

Wow!!

The crowd went wild. Unlike the previous edition, which had a calm atmosphere, the test takers started aggressively as soon as it started!

There was a clear divide between test takers aiming to achieve a high rank and those aiming to pass even with a low rank.

The leading group was struggling to get into the leading group, and the applicants who were trying too hard to join the leading group but were eliminated at the obstacle wasted a lot of their stamina and ended up in a struggle for survival with the rear group.

“650 people. Hosts, please guide the remaining candidates to leave.”

The audience looked at the remaining 650 test takers. Half, or almost all, of the test takers had their backs bent.

Candidates looked with resentment at the fast-moving staff. It’ll give you some time to catch your breath!

ridge! ridge! ridge!

However, the test takers had no choice but to rush out to the sound of the drums, without any time to vent their resentment.

“Aaaah!”

“Ugh!”

Wow!!!

An obstacle race that literally squeezes everything out! The crowd cheered and cheered as they watched the participants sprint with all their might.

There were many participants who fell while trying to overcome obstacles.

I was already low on stamina, but it was only natural that I was trying to quickly overcome the obstacle.

On the other hand, latecomers who saved their stamina to the end quickly advanced.

Fierce competition for the lead!

As each obstacle was overcome, the size of the leading group decreased. Because I didn’t have enough stamina, my running speed was slow, and I made a mistake while crossing the obstacle.

A fierce competition taking place to raise even just one rank!

Wow!!

After overcoming the last obstacle, a sloping hill, the leader group was confirmed. There were twenty ropes provided to help us get over the steep hill.

The leading group crossed the steep hill at almost the same time and ran with all their might.

The distance from the sloping hill to the race finish point is approximately 50 sheets.

A race that literally squeezes everything out!

The crowd cheered generously at the fierce competition for the lead. The leading group runs as if pushed by such shouts. Naturally, even in the leading group, the gap between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places did not widen while Goha was hidden.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd places come in almost at the same time!

“Over there! You wear black shoes! Stand in first place! And you in blue! Second place!”

It’s literally a one-inch difference!

The man in black shoes who was called first place expressed the thrill of victory with his whole body, while the second and third place students expressed their exasperation by kicking the floor and putting their hands on their hips.

After that, the people who came in flocked to their respective seats.

Excluding 2nd and 3rd place, those ranked from 1st to 50th expressed their joy in their respective seats. Anyway, I was in the first line!

Where else have unknown young people experienced the thrill of receiving the cheers and attention of tens of thousands of spectators at once?

I was busy controlling my pounding heart while listening to the shouts and cheers pouring in towards me.

One by one, the seats began to fill up.

Almost all the seats were filled and there was only one last row left.

The audience’s attention was directed to the candidates who were still overcoming the obstacle.

“Aaaaa!!”

“Wow!”

Candidates are looking at the remaining seats and trying to overcome the obstacles by squeezing out their depleted stamina!

“Cheer up!”

“You can do it!”

Cheers poured in on the participants who were struggling repeatedly to overcome the hill, which was the final obstacle. The audience gasped in awe at the sight of the person who reached the end losing strength in his arms and legs and slipping.

Cheers poured in as each person crossed an obstacle.

Thanks to such support, the participants somehow managed to reach the destination even with completely exhausted legs!

Cheering pours in for the final successful candidate, almost crawling in.

dump!

Wow!!

Shouts poured out for the last successful candidate who collapsed and reached the target.

After that, the token award ceremony began.

“The 2nd passing mark is an armband worn over the armband.”

The Sichuan ronin conducting the awarding ceremony flashed the red flags of the three leaders. The numbers 1, 2, and 3, drawn with gold, silver, and bronze thread, flashed in the light on the red band, which was designed to fit perfectly on top of the first preliminary band, like a bump.

It was a good quality item that could easily be found at a cheap store, but the important thing was not the amount of the item.

Symbolism!

This adae was already a valuable item whose price was already imbued with the symbolism of proudly proving one’s ability by overcoming competition that was one-thousandth of the other.

The award ceremony was held. Those who wore a red adae with their rank written on it, a sign of passing the second round, on top of the adae, which was a sign of passing the first round, proudly lined up in front of the podium.

This was when the impatient audience decided that they had seen everything there was to see and turned around to return to Sichuan Province.

“He’s a brainiac!”

“No, is that person a cross-sectional person?”

“There is also a rosary ink bullet!”

The spectators, who had dispersed one by one, quickly gathered again. The best experts from Sichuan Province appear in one place?

Something big is coming!

“Nice to meet you. Everyone from Dongdo, Sacheon Province. I’m a brain hunter.”

Wow!!

Since most of the audience was seeing Noegeomnangin in person for the first time, the audience burst into cheers at the fact that they had seen Noegeomnangin in person.

After the audience’s cheers died down, Noegeonnangin continued speaking.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude that so many people are interested in the public examination to recruit new Sichuan ronin.”

The cheers rang out once again, and Noegeomnangin waited for the cheers to die down to continue speaking.

“However, the current public exam was actually an embarrassment to Roningaekjan. Thousands of people applied to select only 10 new ronin.”

“So, the Sichuan people analyzed the cause of the current situation. And I came to a conclusion. These numerous applicants were a challenge for young people who wanted to find an opportunity to prove themselves.”

The audience roared.

“Sure…”

“There must be many people whose goal is a token.”

“Therefore, we Sichuan people discussed the current situation with political factions in Sichuan Province… and came to one conclusion.”

The crowd and those who passed the exam swallowed their dry saliva at Noegeomnangin’s meaningful words.

Are you thinking of stopping the exam?

The crowd, who had not yet escaped the lingering emotion of the contest between candidates, waited with anxious expressions for the words of Noegeonnangin.

“Let’s expand the Sichuan Nangin selection contest.”

What does this mean?

“There were people who did not participate in this preliminary round. They are warriors from Sichuan Province who belong to a sect.”

“Ah!”

“Definitely…!”

“There are also young people in Sichuan Province who unfortunately missed out on the opportunity.”

Hocheonan’s bombshell declaration followed.

“We will hold another preliminary round and select 500 additional people who can advance to the finals.”

Oh oh oh oh!!!

“They will be given adae numbers starting from 501, and anyone can apply as long as they meet the conditions of being below the first class and participating while wearing a bamboo hat. The Jajang meditation and rosary meditation led by the monks who are standing next to me right now.”

someone shouted.

“Then how will the Sichuan ninja be selected? Those who belong to a sect cannot become Sichuan Ronin!”

“I’ll explain that now!”

Mu Gangtan stepped forward and said.

“The Sacheon Nangin selection test was a test that gave a total of 10 candidates the right to become Sacheon Nangin! However, taking into account the aspirations of the young people of Sichuan Province and the late exponents of the faction, the Rongin Gaekjan and the political factions of Sichuan Province decided to expand this competition!”

enlargement?

“The name is Sacheon Nangin Cup Review Index Selection Contest!”

“Late index selection contest?”

“[Sacheon Nangin Selection Test] is being expanded to [Sacheon Nangin Cup Late Index Selection Contest]! This selection contest will be conducted with the cooperation of all political factions in Sichuan Province! The gist of the [Sacheon Nangin Selection Test] is the same! At each stage, you will compete to acquire symbols and advance to the next stage! The number of final selectees will increase from 10 to 100, and the final 100 selectees will be given the right to nominate a sect!”

“Clan designation rights?”

“If you use the selection ticket, you can join the faction you want! Of course, it is possible to become a Sichuan ronin!”

The crowd and test takers were unable to come to their senses due to the enormous amount of information that poured out in succession, but soon they began to gradually absorb the information and become excited.

More things to see!

Increased number of successful applicants!

Expanded options!

[Sacheon Nangin Selection Test] has evolved into [Sacheon Nangin Cup Late Index Selection Contest]!

Noegeomnangin stepped forward and declared.

“In one week! The first and second preliminaries will be held in the same manner, and a total of 1,000 selected people will compete to advance to the finals of the [Sacheon Nangin Cup Late Index Selection Contest]! We ask for a lot of interest from Sichuan people!”

Wow!!!

The crowd shouted at the top of their lungs.

The news of the [Sacheon Nangin Cup Late Index Selection Contest] spread like lightning and hit Sichuan Province.