Chapter 38. Welcome, Novice

The Azure Heaven Divine Warrior believed that martial artists were not made, but born.

It was when Jin Yeong-in was traveling with his master, the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior.

One day, they happened to be accompanying a convoy transporting goods, and unfortunately, bandits appeared and a fight broke out.

The fight was fierce, but thanks to the Azure Heaven Divine Warrior’s great performance, they were able to defeat the bandits.

It was that night.

‘Master.’

‘What.’

‘About that person who was said to be from a secular family of the Zhongnan Sect.’

Jin Yeong-in brought up the topic, recalling the escort who had fled during the battle, as if he was puzzled.

‘Ah, you mean that cowardly fellow.’

‘Yes.’

‘What about him?’

‘He’s from one of the Nine Sects One Gang, so why is he so bad at fighting?’

Jin Yeong-in was curious about that.

Even if he wasn’t a direct disciple, a secular disciple should have been born with pretty decent qualities.

Moreover, the Zhongnan Sect not only belonged to the Nine Sects One Gang but was also enjoying its golden age, so if he had polished his martial arts in such a place, he should have been an outstanding martial artist.

But to freeze up and stutter during a battle, and then run away?

‘Because he was born that way.’

‘Pardon?’

‘You think anyone can become a martial artist just by training hard?’

‘Am I wrong?’

‘You are.’

The Azure Heaven Divine Warrior shook his head firmly.

‘No matter how outstanding one’s bone structure and insight are, if they don’t know how to fight, they can’t become a martial artist.’

‘They don’t know how to fight?’

‘Right.’

‘Can’t anyone fight?’

‘Surprisingly few people can fight properly in a life-or-death situation.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Do you know what the most important quality for becoming a martial artist is? It’s this.’

The Azure Heaven Divine Warrior said, tapping his chest.

‘If you’re not born with the heart of a martial artist, you can’t become one no matter how good your bone structure and insight are. This is something that can’t be helped even with training.’

‘I’m not sure I understand…’

‘You’ll understand in time. When a life-or-death situation comes, you’ll see that there are more than a few who either run away or freeze up.’

A few years after that.

Jin Yeong-in came to realize that his master’s words were by no means an empty boast.

In the first practical battle conducted by the Heavenly Martial Academy, Jin Yeong-in had clearly seen several disciples freeze up.

It was a moment that made the martial arts they had polished since childhood seem meaningless.

Of course, as the number of practical battles increased, there were a few who gradually adapted, but they were a very small minority.

The disciples who had frozen up in the first practical battle showed the same reaction in the second and third, proving with their own bodies that they did not have the qualities of a martial artist.

Of course, they also tried their best to overcome their fear through arduous efforts, but those who succeeded were extremely rare, and most of them packed their bags and returned to their respective sects.

He didn’t know for sure, but even if they returned to their sects, they probably wouldn’t be treated well, and in the end, they would live as third-rate martial artists who were neither here nor there, or as ordinary people.

At that moment, Jin Yeong-in realized what his master’s teachings meant.

That the heart of a martial artist could not be made through training.

* * *

The ultimate goal of the Hungry Ghost Hell Formation was to weed out those who did not have the qualities to become martial artists.

In other words, it was to see how they would act in an extreme situation.

‘Efficient.’

Jin Yeong-in was quite pleased with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s method of nurturing martial artists.

Instead of wasting effort teaching martial arts to those who were not born with the heart of a martial artist in the first place, it was better to weed them out from the beginning like this.

That was the reason why Jin Yeong-in had pushed away the Blood Wolf who had asked for help.

Even if he were to make such a coward into a martial artist, he couldn’t be trusted to watch his back.

However, it was a different story for those who courageously fought back against the demons.

“H-hey, over there! Help me! Ugh!”

“Damn it! There are so many of them!”

Just then, two other Blood Wolves caught Jin Yeong-in’s eye.

They were doing their best, fighting for their lives against the demons.

Seeing their clumsy movements, it was clear that they had never learned martial arts before entering the Blood Wolf Corps.

Jin Yeong-in launched himself towards them without a moment’s hesitation.

He judged that if they had the courage to fight the enemy somehow even in this situation, they were worthy of his help.

Chwaa, Chwaaaaa!

Jin Yeong-in’s sword drew a magnificent arc, cutting down the demons one by one.

“…!”

“…!”

Surprise filled the eyes of the Blood Wolves.

They were mesmerized by Jin Yeong-in’s martial prowess, who had cut down the demons in the blink of an eye.

“My name is Dae-ho, big brother. Thank you for your help.”

“I am Go-bong. This fellow and I are close friends who grew up in the same village since we were young.”

The two Blood Wolves introduced themselves.

“Jin Yeong-in.”

Jin Yeong-in introduced himself briefly.

“Ah, so you’re Brother Jin. That was truly amazing just now.”

“You saved our lives. Thank you so much, Brother Jin.”

Dae-ho and Go-bong kept thanking him and followed him around.

Perhaps because they firmly believed that the current situation was real due to the influence of the Hungry Ghost Hell Formation, they clearly regarded Jin Yeong-in as their savior.

Not knowing that this whole situation was just an illusion shown by the Hungry Ghost Hell Formation…

“But why do you keep following me?”

At Jin Yeong-in’s question, Dae-ho and Go-bong answered.

“It’s shameless of us, but we feel like we can survive if we stay by your side, big brother. Hehe.”

“They say two heads are better than one, right? Isn’t three better than two, and two better than one?”

Seeing how well they got along, it seemed that their claim of being friends who grew up in the same village was not a lie.

“Alright, just don’t be a bother.”

After saying that, Jin Yeong-in swung his sword nonchalantly.

“Kyak!”

A charging demon was split in two and collapsed.

“A-as expected!”

“You’re truly amazing!”

Dae-ho and Go-bong’s eyes gleamed as if they had seen something incredible.

In reality, it was just a simple sword strike, but in the eyes of the sprouts who were just about to enter the path of martial arts, it looked like truly great martial prowess.

And Dae-ho and Go-bong were just the beginning.

“Big brother! Please take care of us!”

“I want to go with you too!”

As time passed, the number of Blood Wolves following Jin Yeong-in continued to grow.

The Blood Wolves who had seen Jin Yeong-in cut down the demons had gathered one by one.

At first, Jin Yeong-in was annoyed, but later, he just let them follow him.

The reason was simple.

“Support me here!”

“I’m coming!”

“Push them back!”

The Blood Wolves who had gathered around Jin Yeong-in soon formed a group and fought against the demons by joining their forces.

“Big brother, don’t step in! We’ll take care of them!”

“Just leave it to us!”

After taking care of the demons a few times, it reached a point where Jin Yeong-in didn’t even need to step in.

‘Is this why they call it the Blood Wolf Corps?’

Jin Yeong-in thought that the appearance of the Blood Wolves was like a pack of wolves.

The situation looked like a pack of wolves that had gathered around a strong leader was fighting against other beasts of prey.

‘This might have been intentional too.’

If not, it might be that since the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult operates under the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest, a hierarchy naturally forms from the martial artist training process.

This was not only the case for Jin Yeong-in’s group.

Inside the Hungry Ghost Hell Formation, large and small groups had formed and were fighting against the demons.

* * *

About an hour had passed.

The thick fog cleared, and the fiercely charging demons disappeared without a trace.

“Good work.”

The Blood Wolf Corps Commander, Yi Mu-baek, who had appeared at some point, praised the surviving Blood Wolves.

“Those who survived, enter inside immediately. Now.”

“Ack!”

Jin Yeong-in led the Blood Wolves who were following him and moved deep into The Extreme Land.

In the meantime, Yi Mu-baek and the instructors began the selection process for the remaining Blood Wolves, that is, the dead ones.

“Get up at once!”

At Yi Mu-baek’s shout, the Blood Wolves who had been lying on the ground as if dead got up one by one.

“W-where is this?”

“Is this the afterlife?”

“I was sure I was dead…”

The awakened Blood Wolves were confused, as if they didn’t know what was going on.

“Only those with ‘Fallen Warrior’ written on their chests will move to the inner part of The Extreme Land. The rest, with ‘Discharged’ written on them, get out of here at once. Our Cult does not want cowards.”

As Yi Mu-baek said, the chests of the Blood Wolves who had come back from the dead were each marked with the red words ‘Fallen Warrior’ or ‘Discharged’.

The Hungry Ghost Hell Formation seemed to distinguish between the fallen warriors who had bravely fought against the demons and died, and the cowards who had succumbed to fear.

“Why am I discharged! This is unfair!”

“I clearly died fighting the demons! How can you discharge me!”

A few cowards protested fiercely, but it was no use.

“I don’t know why there are always those who don’t listen to words. Have you no shame? You shameless pieces of trash.”

Yi Mu-baek glared at the discharged ones with eyes full of contempt.

“Instructors, what are you doing? Get those bastards out of here at once.”

“Yes!”

As soon as Yi Mu-baek’s order fell, the instructors mercilessly beat the protesters with clubs and drove them out.

As soon as he completed the first selection process, Yi Mu-baek said to the remaining Blood Wolves.

“You bastards have the minimum qualifications to receive the training of the Blood Wolf Corps. At least, it means you are not despicable cowards.”

“Ack!”

“The instructors will guide you to your quarters, so wait there.”

“Ack!”

Although it was called quarters, the place where the Blood Wolves would stay was nothing more than a shabby hut.

It was just a roof made of planks and straw on top of wooden pillars, without any walls.

The Blood Wolves’ quarters were a place where dozens of such large and small huts were gathered together.

“Big brother, come this way!”

“Get out of the way, you bastards!”

Dae-ho and Go-bong took the lead and tried to occupy the best hut.

But the Blood Wolves from other groups were not about to let them.

“Get lost! You bastards! This is our spot!”

“Where do you think you’re looking? Won’t you get lost?”

A group of Blood Wolves blocked Jin Yeong-in’s group.

The instructors just let the Blood Wolves argue.

Rather, seeing the curiosity in their eyes through the gaps in their headbands, it was clear that they were finding the situation interesting.

“This is the spot our big brother has claimed! So you get lost!”

“Puhaha! Our big brother? The so-called big brother you serve is nothing in front of our big brother!”

“What? How dare you disrespect our big brother?”

“If you have a problem, then come at us!”

The atmosphere turned hostile in an instant, and a situation that looked like a brawl was about to break out unfolded.

“Let’s not fight unnecessarily and just take any spot…”

Unable to watch any longer, Jin Yeong-in tried to resolve the situation, but a boy from the opposing group suddenly stepped forward and said.

“Who’s the leader over there?”

The boy, with his still youthful face, didn’t seem to have even reached adulthood yet.

However, his features were handsome and dignified, and his appearance was one that promised a great future.

“I asked who the leader over there is.”

“Let’s just say it’s me for now.”

Jin Yeong-in was reluctant to step forward out of embarrassment, but due to the gazes of the Blood Wolves following him, he had no choice but to face the boy.

“This is our spot. So get lost nicely.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Jin Yeong-in retorted with a snort.

“Then you’ll have to die.”

Swish, just as the boy’s sword was about to touch the tip of Jin Yeong-in’s chin.

Tak, Tatak!

In an instant, Jin Yeong-in struck the boy’s sword and swung his fist and foot.

“Hut!”

The boy was flustered, but he calmly swung his sword and countered Jin Yeong-in’s assault.

After dozens of exchanges in the blink of an eye, the boy managed to create distance from Jin Yeong-in.

“W-who are you.”

The boy asked Jin Yeong-in in a completely surprised voice.

“How do you know the Shaolin fist technique?”

“And how do you use the sword of the Namgung Clan?”

“…”

“Welcome, novice of the Namgung Clan.”

Jin Yeong-in said with a grin, greeting the boy, no, Namgung Sin.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep