Chapter 99

• The Sword Dragon Platform Promotion Exam

The duel stage, which was set up inside the Sword Dragon Platform,
had a regular octagonal structure with a length and width of 30 meters,
and near the vertices of each side,
a total of eight pillars stood.

From the beginning, the regular octagonal duel stage was filled with the killing intent that Dan Dae-pung was emitting. The sharp killing intent, as if a blade had been sharpened, filled the duel stage, and its momentum was extremely fierce.

"Isn't this dangerous?"

Old Master Lee Gwon, one of the judges and in charge of sword techniques, asked Old Master Jang Cheong, who was next to him and in charge of saber techniques. As expected, since he had been rolling around on the Jianghu floor for a long time, his intuition was also quick.

"The matter might not end simply. It's the first time I've seen Pung emit such killing intent."

Old Master Jang replied with a frown. It was not a very good sight for fellow disciples to emit killing intent at each other.

"We can only pray that Pung will hold back. I hope there is no harm to human life. The matter shouldn't get bigger..."

Old Master Gang Hu, who was next to them and in charge of spear techniques, also seemed to be worried. But since the start of the duel had already been announced, they could not stop it in the middle. As long as there was no damage to human life. Among the current evaluation team, there was not a single person who thought that Dan Dae-pung, the talent of the White Tiger Squad, would lose in this match. These three were all just clicking their tongues at Bi Ryu-yeon's recklessness.

The energy of the two people on the duel stage was the complete opposite. Dan Dae-pung's spirit was emitting a terrifying killing intent, as if to eat Bi Ryu-yeon, while Bi Ryu-yeon, despite the sharp killing intent, was extremely carefree, as if to say, 'Whose dog is barking over there?'. It was to the point where the killing intent that Dan Dae-pung was emitting was a waste.

'Who do you think you're emitting killing intent in front of?'

There was no mercy in the hand of discipline. Now, all that was left was to deliver the blow of discipline. As befitting the owner of the ever-thickening killing intent, the one who had rushed in first and had struck a sword blow at Bi Ryu-yeon's crown was Dan Dae-pung. The momentum carried in his sword was terrifying. It looked as if Bi Ryu-yeon's head would split like a watermelon into two pieces right away, and its red inside would be clearly revealed. But...

Ting!

An unbelievable thing happened. The members of the judging committee, who were seated in the hall, all stood up from their seats as if they were sitting on a heated cushion of thorns. Because even they, who were renowned peak masters, could not believe what had just happened. Bi Ryu-yeon had clearly been standing in a defenseless state. There was no sign of a counterattack, to the point where it was suspected that he was crazy. He had not moved his hand faster than light either. His sleeve had not even moved from the beginning. If it were an impossible thing, but even if he had moved at a speed that their eyesight could not catch, the movement of his sleeve would have been captured. But there was no such sign at all.

When it came to being surprised, the surprise of the evaluation team was just a drop in the bucket compared to the astonishment of the person concerned, Dan Dae-pung. There was clearly no sign from the opponent, but the sword blow that Dan Dae-pung had struck down had been repelled as if it had been blocked by an invisible barrier, one inch from his crown. It was a strange feeling, as if he had gone through the heavy air and had hit a soft cotton ball.

Bi Ryu-yeon smiled faintly at Dan Dae-pung, who was standing there dumbfounded with a dazed expression.

"Curious?"

Unconsciously, Dan Dae-pung nodded his head.

"Shall I tell you?"

At Bi Ryu-yeon's subtle tone, Dan Dae-pung once again unconsciously nodded his head. Suddenly, Dan Dae-pung's face turned red. What a shameful act! Dan Dae-pung's face, who had realized his unconscious action, immediately turned red. He had shown weakness in front of the enemy.

Seeing that, Bi Ryu-yeon stuck out his tongue and said.

"Nyah, I won't tell you."

Only then did Dan Dae-pung realize that he had been teased. Dan Dae-pung, whose anger had risen to the top of his head, struck down his sword again. But the second attempt also ended in failure. His sword was still being pushed back by an invisible force. It was a matter for a ghost to cry about.

"You punk! You punk! You punk! You punk!"

He raised his sword again and struck down forcefully. Although his efforts were commendable, his continuous attempts also ended in failure. An invisible, formless force was still blocking his sword like an iron wall.

'Is... is that punk a goblin or something?'

His courage was rapidly cooling down. Accordingly, his courage, which had been swollen as if to burst out of his stomach, also gradually shrank. As expected, a cold compress was the best for swelling.

After about ten attacks had all returned to naught without any reason, he now had no strength to attack, being so dejected. A strange sense of fear broke down his cultivation and arose from the depths of his heart. People often feel fear of the unknown.

"Huh? It seems it's over. Then is it my turn? It seems you were not strong enough to break my barrier. Try harder. Then are you ready now?"

A deep smile appeared on Bi Ryu-yeon's red lips. Bi Ryu-yeon's merciless fist flew towards his chest like a ray of light. His chest, which had been struck by a blow, suffered a compression fracture. If it was a very fortunate thing for him, it was that he had been lucky enough to save his life because the broken bone had not pierced his lung. If the bone had pierced the lung and it had shriveled up like a punctured pig's bladder, resuscitation would have been almost impossible.

But that was only for this one blow. It was impossible to even guess what would happen in the next blow. Anyway, all things did not proceed as expected, according to a pre-written script or plan. Couldn't that diversity and change be said to be the law that maintained the world?

The Wushan Sect's Soaring Eagle Sword, Gang Hyeon-chu, who had been designated as Bi Ryu-yeon's second opponent, had forfeited. Because he did not have the confidence to win against Bi Ryu-yeon, who had defeated the stronger Dan Dae-pung without breaking a sweat. The appearance of Dan Dae-pung, who had suffered a thoracic compression fracture and had been ruthlessly beaten all over his body, had taken away even the fighting spirit that had remained from his anger. More than anything, he could not figure out what Bi Ryu-yeon's secret move was that had blocked Dan Dae-pung's sword, even though he had been watching with his eyes wide open from the side. If he could not find out that secret, it was no different from being defeated even before fighting.

Thus, along with Moyong Hwi, Bi Ryu-yeon also became a Six Sword Dragon and obtained the qualification to participate in the Three Sages Festival. Now, all that was left was to participate in the Three Sages Festival, which everyone was chorusing was impossible, and win.

Summer had also passed, and under Yeomdo's fierce guidance, the skills of the members of the Vermilion Bird Squad were improving by leaps and bounds day by day. Of course, as a price for that leap, they had to be half-dead every day.

For the Vermilion Bird Squad, whose basics had been thoroughly established by Bi Ryu-yeon during the Mount Emei joint training, what was needed was the experience of fighting against masters who could draw out their hidden skills and training results even more. Now, fighting with lower-level opponents for a hundred days and a thousand days would make it difficult to expect a certain level of achievement. Therefore, Bi Ryu-yeon's thought was that Yeomdo would be able to make those punks learn the practical(?) sense of a duel with a master.

That was also the reason why he had entrusted the Vermilion Bird Squad to Yeomdo. Of course, there was another reason hidden in that Yeomdo, which was that it was very troublesome for him to step up and face them one by one.

Anyway, although it was a very unfortunate thing for the Vermilion Bird Squad, Bi Ryu-yeon's calculation had hit the mark with an annoying accuracy. The duel, which was disguised as an educational duel, that Yeomdo had conducted in educating the Vermilion Bird Squad was rough and terrifying. Yeomdo had shown a movement close to beating and had beaten the members of the Vermilion Bird Squad to a pulp. It seemed that the grudge of feelings that had accumulated towards Bi Ryu-yeon in the meantime was thick. To survive under his terrifying saber, all the members of the Vermilion Bird Squad had no choice but to struggle.

And in the ever-increasing excitement of the masses, the opening day of the Three Sages Festival approached.

One hundred and twenty years ago, the three heroes of the Murim who had fought against the Heavenly Calamity Blood God, Wi Cheon-mu, along with the Supreme Polarity Divine Lord, the Martial God, Hyeok Wol-rin! The morning of the opening day of the Cheonmu Three Sages Martial Festival, which was to commemorate the Three Sages of Cheonmu, dawned. The winner of this duel competition, which was abbreviated as the Three Sages Festival, would receive various huge prizes along with honor.

The first of them was the first-class spiritual elixir manufactured at the Medical and Pharmaceutical Hall. The Medical and Pharmaceutical Hall, which belonged to the Cheonmu Academy, had two functions: one was, as its name suggests, to be in charge of the medical treatment of the injured and the sick, and the second was to manufacture spiritual elixirs through traditional secret recipes and independent research. It was said that many of the spiritual elixirs prepared at the Cheonmu Medical and Pharmaceutical Hall were rumored to be effective in the Jianghu.

The Medical and Pharmaceutical Hall had a dedicated department, the Spiritual Medicine and Spiritual Elixir Manufacturing Department, under its jurisdiction for the work of manufacturing these spiritual elixirs. This Spiritual Medicine and Spiritual Elixir Manufacturing Department was said to be divided into three places: the management department, the preparation department, and the collection department, for a smoother maintenance and management. The number of spiritual elixirs and spiritual medicines kept at the Cheonmu Academy was so enormous that it was second to none, and they were strictly managed with iron-clad security and protection. Because spiritual medicines and spiritual elixirs were very sensitively affected by temperature, humidity, ventilation, and the amount of sunlight, they required strict management.

Since they were storing such spiritual medicines, they had no choice but to be extremely sensitive to the quantity and number. What a big deal it would be if someone stole them or secretly ate them!

The spiritual medicines and spiritual elixirs that the Cheonmu Academy possessed were first divided into three stages and stored. First, the third-class spiritual elixirs included various spiritual elixirs such as the Heart-Activating Pill or the Rebirth Pill, which had the effect of a rapid fatigue recovery agent. Although their value might be lower compared to the first and second classes, they were very useful items for living in the Jianghu. Because fatigue was recovered directly, they were especially effective when one was cornered. It was said that they were often used for rewarding meritorious service.

The second-class spiritual elixirs were mainly composed of spiritual medicines and spiritual elixirs that had a specific efficacy in a specific field. In other words, they included detoxification pills with excellent performance, or resuscitation pills or internal injury treatment pills with very excellent wound healing power. Many of the spiritual elixirs that were effective for internal injuries belonged to this second class.

The first-class spiritual elixir, which was given to the winner of the Three Sages Festival to have the opportunity to take, was a spiritual elixir with a powerful medicinal effect that could allow one to see the effect of increasing internal energy, which any person of the Jianghu would dream of, and it was the most valuable spiritual medicine and spiritual elixir. Of course, it was not that one could become the number one in the world in internal energy overnight by eating just one pill, but everyone wanted to take it because it had a powerful internal energy attribute effect. If one were to pick the most famous and effective spiritual elixir among the first-class spiritual elixirs, it would be the Shaolin Temple's Great Recovery Pill.

Even in the Cheonmu Academy, the number of these first-class spiritual elixirs was very small and limited. Because they were items with a value of a thousand pieces of gold, which were difficult to obtain, difficult to receive as a donation, and even more difficult to make.

Besides that, according to rumors, there was a special place in the depths of the spiritual elixir storage of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Hall that was strictly protected in layers. There were a very small number of spiritual elixirs classified as special-class spiritual elixirs, and they were strictly stored separately, so even the truth of their existence could not be known. According to rumors, their efficacy was such that they could even revive the dead, but the truth of that had not yet been proven.

Thus, the winner of the Three Sages Festival was given a first-class spiritual elixir with the effect of increasing internal energy, which any person of the Jianghu would dream of, as a prize. Besides, it was said that the winner was also given a part of the martial arts insights left by the previous masters as a prize, in addition to the first-class spiritual elixir manufactured at the Medical and Pharmaceutical Hall, so it was truly a case of adding flowers to brocade.

Besides, winning this competition was also the most certain way to make one's name known not only in the Cheonmu Academy but also in the entire Jianghu and to solidify one's position. Because it was the most certain way to make one's name shine, not only the entire academy but also the various sects of the Jianghu became noisy. When this time came, all the attention of the Jianghu was focused on the Cheonmu Academy. The Three Sages Festival was that big of an event not only for the Cheonmu Academy but also for the entire righteous path Murim.

Now, in a little while, the opening ceremony of such a Three Sages Festival was about to be held.

Jang Hong's eyes widened when he saw Bi Ryu-yeon walking into the grand training ground, which was the opening ceremony venue of the Three Sages Festival. The reason was because of one thing he was carrying on his back.

"What are you carrying on your back right now? If it's not rude, I'd like to ask once."

Jang Hong asked with a dumbfounded face. Was the long thing on Bi Ryu-yeon's back that strange? It wasn't. The problem was the fact that that thing was not in the place where it should be right now. Why was an instrument needed in a place where the high and low of martial arts were being measured, and what use was it?

"Don't you know when you see it? It's my Ink Thunder. It's what I always use, isn't it?"

What was in Bi Ryu-yeon's hand was the Thunder Zither, Ink Thunder, and it was something he always used. There was nothing strange about it. The problem was the use of the Thunder Zither, Ink Thunder, today.

"Don't you know what day it is today?"

"Of course I know well. Isn't it the opening ceremony of the Three Sages Festival and the first preliminary round? It's also the day I'm scheduled to participate."

Bi Ryu-yeon knew in great detail.