Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Cultivation Through Copulation.

Episode 9: Entrance Exam.

Huh?

Lack immortal fate? So you’re telling me to leave the mountain?

Aren’t you also a candidate for the entrance exam like me?

You’re talking as if you’re the exam supervisor. Anyone seeing this would think you’re an exam supervisor telling me to go back.

Yuk-gyeong retorted to the middle-aged man.

“You say I lack immortal fate? What exactly is this immortal fate that you claim I’m lacking?”

It’s not something you can take away with sex, is it? What exactly is immortal fate? What is it, you nerd?

Immortal fate my ass.

Just making it here is already fate.

How much did I struggle to get from the village to Manho?

Regardless of Yuk-gyeong’s feelings, the middle-aged man explained slowly.

“Immortal fate refers to how well one’s cultivation and practice align. It could mean one’s mentality or one’s nature. It seems this brother’s nature doesn’t fit with the spirit of the Dark Moon Sect, so you might fail.”

“How would you know that, sir? Do you know my nature?”

“Your forehead is full of worry, and there are signs of fatigue under your eyes. You have a lot of suspicion towards people and a nature to repay grudges in any way possible, don’t you? Your appearance is exactly that of a wolf.”

A wolf? Am I destined to be a king? I don’t want to be a worldly king. Maybe an immortal king.

Anyway, this person is giving me bad words instead of compliments upon first meeting me?

Is physiognomy a science or something? Do they decide if you can become an immortal by looking at your face?

If you could become an immortal by appearance, that white-haired old man who left earlier looked more like an immortal than anyone here, right?

Of course, all of this was just in his mind.

This is the entrance exam site of the highly notorious Dark Moon Sect.

Suddenly coming up to offer advice and spewing curses under the guise of goodwill made Yuk-gyeong suspicious.

So Yuk-gyeong, still smiling, asked back.

“What about your own fortune, Brother?”

“In my case, I have the typical fortune of a dog. A loyal, brave, and tenacious nature. I am also full of good karma. As for me, since childhood, I have been wise and deeply thoughtful.”

Dog, my foot.

Your fortune is more like a rabbit or a grasshopper.

From what I see, your fortune doesn’t quite match the immortal’s image either.

As Yuk-gyeong remained silent with a sullen expression, Wol-cheon continued.

“You seem to have some dissatisfaction on your face, but you don’t appear to have any good karma. I suggest you give up on entering and just go back down. I’m saying this with good intentions.”

The middle-aged man chuckled and pretended to be innocent.

Yuk-gyeong asked with a pout.

“How can you tell just by looking? If you can see good karma, aren’t you already an immortal?”

“You can tell at a glance. This is my third time taking the Dark Moon Sect entrance exam.”

The third time taking the Dark Moon Sect entrance exam? Wouldn’t they ban you from entering the Dark Moon Sect by now?

Is there even such a thing as a third attempt?

“Don’t believe that person. He’s known for trying to lower others’ confidence to chase them away because he wants to become a disciple himself. He’s famous for it. Mister, just go back down. You can’t enter anyway due to the age limit.”

The woman walking beside them snorted and said to Yuk-gyeong.

It was only then that Yuk-gyeong noticed the woman next to him, who was quite a beauty. Unlike Hye-chun, whom he left in his hometown, she had a refreshing appearance with long limbs and a figure that stood out even in men’s martial attire.

She smiled slightly when her eyes met Yuk-gyeong’s, indicating a possible interest.

But when her gaze landed on the middle-aged Wol-cheon, it turned icy cold.

The middle-aged Wol-cheon snapped and shouted.

“Who are you to slander me? And, the age limit might not apply to this exam!”

“Hmph, how can a sect not consider age when recruiting disciples? You should make sense.”

“Ugh! Just wait and see! This time, there will definitely be no age limit!”

Come to think of it, there might be an age limit.

In wuxia novels, they often debate about age limits for entry, so wouldn’t it be the same for becoming an immortal?

Entering at a young age must make ascending easier or something like that.

Yuk-gyeong had just come of age. Looking around, there were many children, but there were also a few young adults like Yuk-gyeong.

There seemed to be hardly any middle-aged people like Wol-cheon.

The outer disciple leading the way seemed uninterested in the commotion among the applicants.

He was aloof, as if unrelated to the worldly chaos.

“Let’s leave that fraud and talk, shall we, young hero? I’m Yu Yeong-yeong.”

“Miss Yeong-yeong, I’m Lee Yuk-gyeong.”

Yuk-gyeong responded gently to the pretty woman.

Yeong-yeong smiled at Yuk-gyeong’s gentle demeanor and said,

“That fraud told you to leave, claiming you lack immortal fate or have an unfortunate appearance, right? It’s all lies. How could that fraud see fate or appearances? Don’t believe that fraud. My sister warned me not to get involved with him.”

“I suspected as much. Your sister?”

“Yes, She’s an inner disciple of the Dark Moon Sect. I’ve picked up a few things here and there from her. If that swindler said one true thing, it’s that you need a certain immortal fate to join a cultivation sect. Ordinary people like us can’t see it, but cultivators apparently can.”

“Is this immortal fate absolutely necessary to enter the sect? How can one recognize this fate?”

“Just arriving at the mountain gate might mean you have that fate, right? I’m not sure about the details. Cultivation sects usually say the person has no immortal fate when they refuse to take someone as a disciple.”

No immortal fate, they say? Does that mean immortal fate is akin to Spiritual Roots?

Since Spiritual Roots are needed to sense the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth and cultivate, it’s not strange to refer to Spiritual Roots as immortal fate.

This was merely Yuk-gyeong’s speculation.

In any case, as they conversed, they eventually arrived at the mountain gate.

The grandly erected gate was made of thick logs. Similar to the Hongsalmun’s1 in Korea, it didn’t have an actual door, but seemed to mark the entrance.

In front of the gate, a middle-aged man stood with his arms tucked into his sleeves, looking down at the ordinary people with a cold expression.

He could indeed be said to possess the demeanor of an immortal.

The middle-aged man with neatly tied black hair and well-groomed beard was generally expressionless. Although he looked angry, it seemed that this was just his natural expression.2

This middle-aged man, with his immortal-like demeanor, seemed almost too refined and exceptional to be considered as someone who was living in the same world as them.

Compared to ordinary people, the outer disciples displayed an immortal’s demeanor, but next to this middle-aged man, they seemed nothing more than mundane.

He was none other than the elder in charge of this year’s Dark Moon Sect entrance exam, Iron-faced True Monarch, Geum Seung-won!

Iron-faced Geum Seung-won was quite renowned even within the cultivation world.

Though he had little emotional fluctuation and was generally cold, leaving him with few close acquaintances, his skills were beyond doubt.

His feat of killing the demon from Sansu, Slaughter Monarch, Baek Do-geon, in a single day was still a talked-about tale in the cultivation world. It was extremely rare to defeat someone of the same level in just one day.

It was a testament to the depth of his cultivation.

Elder Geum pointed to the left.

“Those under twenty, stand here.”

Then he pointed to the right.

“Those over twenty but under thirty, stand here.”

Lastly, he pointed down the mountain.

“If you are over thirty, leave the mountain.”

After saying this, the middle-aged man with the immortal-like demeanor closed his mouth.

He scanned the crowd with sharp eyes, causing those who met his gaze to naturally lower their heads, as if blinded.

Elder Geum’s words carried an undeniable authority.

Even without shouting or cursing, he possessed a charisma that naturally compelled others to obey his words.

“Those who pass, follow me to go take the entrance exam at the mountain gate, and those who fail, leave the mountain.”

Behind the immortal-like middle-aged man, there was a line drawn, seemingly marking the entrance to the mountain gate and the passing line.

Beyond the line, flowed a stream with a wooden bridge over it, giving it a rather celestial appearance.

The ordinary people standing before the middle-aged man gazed at the scenery inside the mountain gate with longing eyes.

Meanwhile, those over thirty murmured among themselves, questioning if they were disqualified.

“I’m over thirty, but I still have the heart to cultivate! How can you send me back like this?”

“I heard the Dark Moon Sect is a fair sect! Does it make sense to send us back because of our age?”

Among those over thirty, some voiced their complaints.

However, none of them dared meet Elder Geum’s eyes. There was something sharp about Elder Geum’s gaze.

Elder Geum didn’t say anything further. He simply closed his eyes.

Then, a disciple standing next to Elder Geum stepped forward.

“Those over thirty, leave!”

At the disciple’s stern command, everyone over thirty turned and descended the mountain.

Huh? They made a fuss at the gate, but they’re just letting them go like that? That’s too lenient.

Yuk-gyeong was momentarily doubtful but rationalized, ‘Well, it’s just a fuss, they can overlook that.’

Among those descending the mountain, Wol-cheon grumbled, “Damn, I thought there wouldn’t be an age limit this time,” as he walked down the gate. I thought he would cause a disturbance, but he didn’t.

If that annoying man had made a fuss, I could’ve seen how Dark Moon Sect deals with troublemakers.

Perhaps they would have killed and hung him at the gate. Or maybe forced him to take his own life? I don’t know how a wicked demonic sect punishes those who cause disturbances.

Yuk-gyeong was still clinging to the belief that Dark Moon Sect was an evil demonic sect.

TL/N: A hongsalmun is a gate for entering a sacred place in Korea ↩️

TL/N: Dude got RBF ↩️