episode_0034

Exactly three days after departing, he finally arrived in Sichuan Province.

Had he used lightness skills, he would have arrived in a single day, but the schedule for the Tang Family Gathering was already set anyway.

There was no need to rush, and the sunlight was warm, so Cheongun did not hurry.

Upon arriving in Sichuan Province, Cheongun found a suitable inn nearby and unpacked his bags.

The streets were teeming with people, but he used the wealth he had plundered from ruffians on the way as extra payment, so finding lodging was no trouble.

Cheongun unpacked his bags in his room and opened the window.

There were many people.

Not just many, but truly an outrageous number.

Sichuan Province was a major city where the Tang Sect was located.

It could be called the center of the martial world, regardless of righteous or unorthodox factions.

Even upon arrival, the streets were packed with people, but seeing it from above made him truly dizzy.

Especially since the Tang Family Gathering was akin to a martial arts festival, wasn’t it an event that drew all eyes in the martial world?

Renowned martial artists from all corners of the Central Plains, their families and sects who came to support them, and even people who held fantasies about martial artists.

Naturally, where people gathered, merchants gathered, and where merchants gathered, jobs were created.

This was why the Tang Sect raked in money unlike other sects.

“…Still, this is too many people?”

However, because there were simply too many, pushing through the crowd seemed difficult.

Although personnel presumed to be officials were stationed like stakes at various points along the roads, seeing them stand still and do nothing suggested they were merely deployed for public order.

“There’s no choice then.”

Cheongun opened the window.

Then, standing on the windowsill, he threw his body outside without hesitation.

*Whoosh-*

His falling body left only a blurry afterimage in the air. The moment his toes touched a signboard hanging under the inn’s eaves, he twisted his body.

*Creak,* went the signboard as it swayed.

Cheongun immediately shot upwards, propelled by the rebound.

He flipped his body once in mid-air and landed on the roof tiles.

Thus, he employed his lightness skill, swish swish, gliding from roof to roof.

Just then, he saw other martial artists using lightness skills around him.

One strange thing was that all of them were performing their lightness skills with extreme earnestness.

What was this?

Was registration first-come, first-served?

He subtly observed them.

As he focused appropriately, the voices of two men, farthest ahead, reached his ears.

Sound, too, was a wave carried by air vibrations.

Cheongun’s hearing, with his sensory perception heightened, was close to superhuman, so merely tilting his ear allowed their conversation to travel through the air with clarity.

“Brother Moyong! To think we’d meet here! Your lightness skill has improved by leaps and bounds since I last saw you!”

“How can you say such a thing? When have I ever been slower than Paeng Hyung-nim?”

“Haha! What are you talking about? Don’t you remember the last time we met?”

“I’m not sure what you mean. Surely you’re not referring to the lightness skill I performed while drunk back then, are you?”

They were spewing nonsense, arguing about who was faster or slower while performing their lightness skills.

Cheongun found the sight amusing.

To Cheongun’s eyes, both seemed to be at the initial stage of the Peak realm, but seeing these novices fiercely competing against each other provided a strangely entertaining experience.

“Looking now, you don’t seem much different from back then?”

“How about you get ahead of me first before saying such things? It’s unsightly.”

Ancient Central Plains was, quite literally, a harsh battleground for survival.

As such, most lives were a continuous struggle, and naturally, there was little room to fulfill the desire for recognition and respect.

Therefore, when martial artists gained power, the first thing they did was flaunt it.

This was because it was directly linked to a basic human desire.

It was the same reason why everyone treated a master with respect.

They did so hoping they too would be respected once they reached that position.

Hence, a master needed to be dignified.

This was why Cheongun was always so assertive.

*Flash!*

Cheongun unleashed his internal energy.

His already swift speed accelerated even further.

The lightness skill Cheongun had mastered was the Flying Shadow Flashing Steps.

It was a lightness skill where internal energy was expelled from the soles of his feet, allowing him to run as if bouncing. Its instantaneous acceleration was among the best in the martial world.

However, it had the drawback of severe internal energy consumption, but for Cheongun, whose dantian was fully packed with natural qi, it posed no problem.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

Each time his feet touched the roof and bounced off, a bluish-green lightning qi crackled like a spiderweb from the soles of Cheongun’s feet!

Every movement caused bluish-green electricity to flash in the air, drawing everyone’s gaze.

Cheongun enjoyed the attention.

A master must always be dignified!

That was why Cheongun performed his lightness skill even more ostentatiously.

“……”

“……”

At the sight, the two men who had been competing in lightness skills snapped their mouths shut.

They had merely been purely competing in lightness skills.

Furthermore, among the many martial artists performing lightness skills on the rooftops, those two were the fastest.

So, how could they welcome Cheongun, who suddenly appeared and stole everyone’s attention?

No, it was rather astonishing.

What kind of lightness skill was so fast and flashy?!

Each time a bolt of lightning flashed, he seemed to leap across space, appearing from afar, as if witnessing the Immortal Arts heard only in legends.

Regardless, Cheongun ran, leaping through space.

He had already surpassed the two.

He glanced back at them and said,

“Slow.”

“…?”

Just one word.

After that single word, bluish-green electricity flashed around him, and his form instantly vanished.

“…What kind of guy was that?”

“…I don’t know either.”

****

Cheongun arrived at the location where the preliminaries were being held.

The place was the Tang Sect Training Ground.

He went to the reception desk and found a scrawny man sitting there.

He received instructions from the man to go to the outer compound and was on his way to participate in the preliminaries.

He subtly looked around.

The attire of the martial artists, all neatly dressed, caught his eye.

There were outfits of silk robes tightly cinched with waistbands, or simple cloth martial uniforms securely fastened at the lapels.

Their weaponry also varied widely.

He then arrived at the outer compound.

After sitting and waiting for a long time, two men entered.

They were the two novices who had been competing in lightness skills on the rooftops earlier.

They saw Cheongun and, startled, asked him,

“Oh, good to see you. Are you also participating in the martial arts competition, young brother?”

“Yes.”

Cheongun nodded vaguely.

Considering he was called Paeng Hyung-nim earlier and the huge saber in his hand, he seemed to be from the Hebei Paeng Family.

“Hah hah! What a coincidence.”

Just like someone from the Paeng Family, he was quite friendly.

Then, the weasel-like fellow next to him offered a handshake.

“I am Moyong Jin.”

“I am Cheongun.”

“This is Paeng Cheonwi, an acquaintance who will be participating in the martial arts competition with me this time.”

“Ah, yes.”

Cheongun nodded vaguely.

Moyong Jin said he was twenty-five, but honestly, he looked so prematurely aged that Cheongun had thought he was over thirty.

Seeing Cheongun’s surprised expression, Moyong Jin asked,

“If it’s not too rude, may I ask you something?”

“It is rude.”

“……”

Just then, Tang Sect martial artists, who clearly looked like officials, poured in from the entrance.

“Cheongun, Paeng Cheonwi, Moyong Jin. The three of you, follow us.”

Following them, a spacious training ground appeared.

In the center lay an overwhelmingly massive black stone slab.

It was a black stone panel the size of a building wall.

Cheongun tilted his head.

The Tang Family Gathering’s examination method changed slightly each time it was held.

Thus, Cheongun had no idea what kind of test they would be taking at this point.

Just then, the guiding martial artist bellowed,

“Before the martial arts competition, we will conduct a qualification test! We will confirm whether you can wield qi! You are allowed only one chance. You must leave a mark of one *cheok* or more on the stone slab to pass!”

So, it meant that leaving even a single mark on the stone slab would qualify them?

It was a truly intuitive and simple preliminary method.

Of course, it was a bit difficult for others.

While those at the Peak realm could wield sword qi, first-rate martial artists could at best infuse their swords with qi to tightly wrap around the blade’s surface, nothing more.

“Just the right difficulty for a preliminary round.”

“Indeed.”

Of course, for those who could wield sword qi like Paeng Cheonwi and Moyong Jin, it was not a difficult test.

“Paeng Cheonwi! Step forward!”

He strode out with large steps.

It was a gait that truly suited his large build.

“Huu.”

Paeng Cheonwi slowly raised his internal power.

His broad saber blade hummed softly, vibrating subtly.

It was the precursor to saber qi.

And then.

*CRASH!*

“Pass!”

There was a saber mark about eight *ppeom* deep on the stone slab.

“Hahahaha! Nothing much to it!”

To wield saber qi meant reaching the Peak realm.

That meant: a master!

Paeng Cheonwi walked back triumphantly.

“Moyong Jin!”

Moyong Jin also stood before the stone slab.

He smoothly drew his sword and took a starting stance, then performed a flamboyant preparatory movement as if dancing…

*THUD!*

“Pass!”

A sword mark of almost identical depth appeared right next to the trace left by Paeng Cheonwi.

Moyong Jin clicked his tongue in apparent disappointment with the result, then strode back.

And then.

“Cheongun!”

Cheongun strode forward.

Then, he took the fishing rod slung over his shoulder into his hand.

“???”

Paeng Cheonwi and Moyong Jin’s eyes widened.

Why a fishing rod when he had a perfectly good sword?

Moreover, his preparatory movement was strange.

It wasn’t a starting stance, nor did it look like the preparatory movement for a technique.

He simply scratched his ear canal a few times with his finger, then blew out a breath—and gripped the fishing rod.

Then, Cheongun swung the fishing rod horizontally.

The fishing line swayed, forming an arc.

It was swung horizontally, aimed at the mid-section of the stone slab.

In an instant, the fishing line became taut like a bowstring.

A piercing blue light.

It was sword qi.

But it was strange.

Sword qi was an art of expelling the qi residing within a sword.

However, qi inevitably weakened as it extended outwards, so it usually tapered towards the end.

That was why it became pointed, like a cone.

But the sword qi emanating from Cheongun’s fishing line extended in a straight line without end.

Moreover, it maintained a uniform thickness without the slightest deviation.

The swung fishing line touched the side of the stone slab.

The fishing line smoothly pierced through the stone slab without resistance, as if slicing tofu.

The fishing line went straight through and emerged from the other side, drawing a long line.

It was a perfect diagonal.

And then.

*CRACK! CRACK!*

The stone slab shifted and cracked.

Acrid stone dust rose as the upper part of the slab slid sideways.

*CRASH!*

Finally, the upper part of the stone slab fell to the ground.

“……”

An eerie silence settled.

Everyone simply stared blankly at the smoothly cut surface of the stone slab.

Then, Cheongun said,

“Pass.”

“……”