‘This can’t go on.’

That was the first thought that came to mind.

From the numerous secret struggles that would happen in the future to the invasion of the Blood Cult, the advent of the Demonic Cult, and even the war between the righteous and unorthodox factions.

It was difficult for me to block them all. Especially in the case of the Demonic Cult.

In the first place, there was a reason why the protagonist was the protagonist.

In the end, Baek Hasin had an irreplaceable role.

It meant that I couldn’t just leave him alone, thinking he would take care of it himself.

In that case, there was only one option left.

‘I have to raise Baek Hasin.’

Because if he remains weak, he won’t be able to overcome the trials ahead.

In that sense, this friendly exchange match was important.

It was also an opportunity to make an impression on the most people, but most of all, it would become one of the reasons why the Baek family would call for Baek Hasin during the vacation later on.

If he deviates from the episode where he can gain an opportunity here, his growth in the future will be hindered.

‘First, I’ll piece back together what has fallen apart.’

To do that, the first thing needed is…

‘I’ll have to put Baek Hasin back as the representative.’

My two eyes sank.

* * *

“Hey.”

The person I sought out was Oh Chosam, who had been called fourth when the representatives were announced.

He was a young man who had entered without any particular sect, having come from a wanderer background.

“Well, if it isn’t the former top student? What brings you here?”

Oh Chosam looked over this way, lying on a pillar on top of a tree.

As his name suggested, he was a student with a plain face and physique. An appearance that would at most look like he was in his late teens.

“Let’s have a duel.”

“I don’t think it will be possible with my lacking sword. I don’t have money for treatment, you see.”

“Is this enough?”

When I took out a couple of promissory notes, Oh Chosam’s eyes changed.

“But can I even have a duel with the top student? Come to think of it, I think I’m still lacking.”

I could see a trick to raise his price in the way he dragged out his words.

I chuckled and added a condition.

“Then let’s just exchange three forms. After that, let’s change it to a chase.”

“Hmm, a chase… that’s scary.”

“It’s well known from the morning training that I’m slow on my feet, isn’t it? Don’t tell me you can’t even run away?”

With those words, I added one more promissory note.

A total of 300 nyang. An amount equivalent to the monthly salary of a martial artist from a small to medium-sized sect.

It was an excessive amount for a student from a wanderer background.

I had quite a bit of spare money after robbing the bandits anyway.

Since I couldn’t go out for a while due to the ban, it was better to spend it on something like this.

“Well, let’s do that.”

Oh Chosam said as he came down from the tree. Unlike his nonchalant attitude, the sound of him landing on the ground was completely inaudible.

‘As expected, he’s no ordinary person.’

“I’d like to have the duel in a place where there are no eyes to see.”

“Ah, of course.”

The guy changed his attitude completely and replied politely.

It was understandable, since I had bet a month’s salary on a single duel.

Soon, we headed to our target destination. Passing the training ground and the mountain range surrounding the academy, a deserted bamboo forest appeared.

It was the first time since I had come for the entrance exam.

The long poles bent in unison in the wind, and the long leaf veins clashed, making the sound of dry waves.

“It’s no fun to just fight, so let’s make a bet.”

“Yes?”

“How about the winner takes one of the things the other has?”

I proposed, showing the bundle of promissory notes in my bosom.

Me, holding a bundle of cash, and Oh Chosam, in shabby clothes.

It was clear to whom it was a better proposal.

The guy replied readily.

“Let’s do that. But you might regret it if you make a mistake.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t do things that result in a loss.”

After saying that, I continued to walk.

The deeper we went, the deeper the bamboo forest became.

The sunlight that had been shining down on my head was gradually hidden by the dense green stems, and before long, the surroundings were submerged in a bluish-green color.

In the eerie atmosphere, Oh Chosam asked jokingly as we continued to go deeper inside.

“Young Master Cheonwu. I heard you use formations. Don’t tell me you’ve set up a formation here?”

Before long, it was just the two of us. I stopped my steps.

“Even if there was, it wouldn’t matter to you, would it?”

“Yes?”

“This is what I mean.”

I immediately flicked my fingertips.

Fwoosh!

A flame that was triggered as soon as the words were finished.

But the opponent was already gone from the place where the smoke had risen.

“This…. You use a mysterious technique.”

Oh Chosam, who had already moved back. But he didn’t run away.

“Is this the first form?”

A very relaxed-looking expression. But it’s only now that he’s showing such an attitude.

“Not yet.”

After a short reply, I created a wind.

Swoooosh-

From all directions, bamboo leaves scattered like daggers and rushed in.

The bamboo leaf blades that surrounded Oh Chosam, creating a vortex like a typhoon.

The guy whose surroundings were dominated in an instant.

Although he seemed quite surprised by the sight before his eyes, he soon hardened his expression and drew his sword.

“With something like this…”

After all, they were just leaves. Mysterious, but not much of a threat.

He was right. But not anymore.

“What you see is not all there is.”

I grinned and flicked my fingertips.

Fwoooosh!

In an instant, the flames that swallowed the shooting bamboo leaves and burned.

Oh Chosam’s figure, who was facing the fire demon that was rushing in, creating a heat wave in an instant, disappeared.

My gaze, which had captured the momentary change, sank.

‘A disciple of the Spirit God Phantom Thief, as expected.’

As one of the top thieves in the history of the Central Plains, it was said that many assassination families had coveted him because of the stealth and speed of his footwork.

The Spirit God Steps, which erases one’s own existence to traverse the world.

However, there was also a weakness here, and that was that when the realm was not yet mature, there was a high possibility of being swept away by the aftermath of the surroundings.

Just like now.

“W-what is this?!”

Oh Chosam, who had broken through the flames, was flustered, unable to control his staggering body.

Before he knew it, the strong updraft created by the heat was suppressing his movements as if wrapping around him.

“It seems this is the first time you’ve tried to get out of a pit of fire, right?”

I asked, rushing at the guy who had lost his balance.

Oh Chosam, who tried to block by raising his sword in an instant. It was a reflexive movement, but it was too early a judgment.

‘As expected, he lacks experience.’

I stopped in my running posture and at the same time, I added a rotational force to the Muhak Sword and threw it at the guy.

“Heot?!”

Then, Oh Chosam, who tilted the sword he was swinging to protect his vital points.

But he couldn’t completely deflect the trajectory of the Muhak Sword, and the tip of the sword eventually got stuck in his shoulder.

“Keuk!”

Even so, Oh Chosam didn’t stop. This was what it meant to lose your sword in a one-on-one battle.

As long as you didn’t die, the one who held the sword until the end could rush in and seize victory.

Oh Chosam’s eyes, which had approached within a close distance before I knew it, were shining brightly.

It seemed he was planning to give up his flesh and take the bone.

The gap where the opponent’s sword strike could be unleashed at any moment. A flash filled that tense space in an instant.

Crackle!

In a flash, a lightning strike had formed at my fingertips.

‘To subdue a fast guy, there’s nothing like this.’

The blue lightning flashed in several directions and was shot at the guy.

“Keoheok!”

Oh Chosam collapsed on the spot with a sound of his lungs shriveling and his breath being taken away.

He must have never experienced something like this before.

“I’ve won.”

I muttered coldly, looking down at Oh Chosam, who was rolling on the floor.

“By the way, we agreed that the winner would take one of the things the opponent has.”

“What are you…”

As I approached within a close distance, Oh Chosam’s face turned pale.

Baek Hasin had failed to be selected as a representative?

In that case, the solution was simple.

“Y-Young Master Zhuge Cheonwu!”

Just drop the candidate.

Until Baek Hasin is selected as the representative.

“Kuaaaak!”

Oh Chosam’s scream echoed in the middle of the bamboo forest, which was full of ashes.

* * *

“What’s with the fuss?”

I chided, taking my finger out of his open mouth.

When I pulled the string connected to his molar, a piece of iron wrapped in a waterproof cloth popped out.

“H-how did you know that?!”

Oh Chosam showed a look of astonishment. He seemed dumbfounded, as if he had thought he would never be caught.

I examined the key without answering.

It was an object exquisitely crafted from an alloy, including cold iron.

‘The key to the Heaven-Shattering Demon’s tomb.’

It was also the reason why Oh Chosam had entered this academy.

‘The tomb of the Heaven-Shattering Demon is hidden on the academy grounds.’

Of course, it’s a fact that is revealed later.

‘It’s useless information for now. The same goes for this key.’

However, the important thing was that Oh Chosam didn’t know this fact right now. He would consider this key to be very important.

“Do you want it back?”

When I shook the key, Oh Chosam nodded his head vigorously.

“But there are three conditions.”

“Three?”

“If you don’t want to, then don’t. I’m curious what the result will be if I entrust it to the family’s appraiser.”

At my words, Oh Chosam’s eyes wavered. It would be the result he would be most reluctant to face.

After all, the one who is in a desperate situation has to yield.

The option of losing this key, which was the reason he had entered the academy, would have been non-existent from the beginning.

“N-no.”

I said to the silent Oh Chosam.

“First, you will teach me your footwork.”

“Yes? Even if it’s not mine, in the secret manual library…”

The guy shut his mouth as if he had realized something. It seemed he had just remembered that I couldn’t enter the secret manual library because my top student status had been revoked.

I answered without paying attention to it.

“I need the very footwork you showed me.”

No matter how much of a Heaven-Shattering Demon he was, he couldn’t steal all the martial arts. The Central Plains was wide, and no matter how much of a world’s number one he was, he was just an individual in the end.

A considerable number of heretical martial arts and hidden secret manuals were still not in the secret manual library in many cases.

The Spirit God Steps was also one of those kinds of martial arts.

One of the few advanced footworks that could be operated with just the internal energy of the Three Talents Cultivation Method level. It was the martial art I needed right now.

“Even so, that’s…”

Although it was an era of martial arts liberalization, martial arts were still precious. And even more so if it was a martial art that was passed down from generation to generation only among successors, like the Spirit God Steps.

“You don’t need this?”

But value is always relative. When I lifted the key, Oh Chosam let out a groan.

“I’m not asking you to teach me until I’ve completely mastered it. Just teach me the basic qi operation method for now and show me a demonstration.”

“…Let’s do that.”

Having no choice, Oh Chosam got up from his seat, staggering. The shock of the lightning strike still remained, so his body was still unnatural, but it seemed he had enough strength to perform a footwork.

“But I’ll tell you after I hear the rest of the conditions. And most of all, please guarantee that I can receive that item.”

It was a valid point. I immediately listed the conditions.

“Second, you will give up your position as a representative in this friendly match.”

“…I don’t think I can resign on my own accord.”

“Say you were injured. I’ll help you if you want.”

“No, but if I say I was injured during training, it will only arouse unnecessary suspicion, so I’ll have to say I was injured during a duel.”

He was trying to subtly shift the responsibility to me.

“You can use my name.”

“Let’s do that.”

My bad reputation was already widespread anyway. It didn’t matter if it got a little worse now.

Lately, I had even been thinking of using it, so it was actually a good thing.

“And the third?”

At Oh Chosam’s question, I laid out the last condition.

“When you use this item, I will be with you.”

“That’s not possible.”

Then, a firm voice was heard.

I knew this would happen. I added.

“What if I know how to use this item?”

“Yes?”

Oh Chosam didn’t know how to use this artifact at all right now. Since it was a usage method that could only be figured out after a long time in the original work, he was bound to be puzzled.

“In that case, can you allow a joint venture?”

“What are you talking about… I don’t quite understand.”

Oh Chosam asked, showing a flustered expression. I answered him.

“It means I know how to use this key.”

“No way…”

Oh Chosam looked at me with a half-believing, half-doubting look, as if he had never thought he would be caught with the key.

“I’ll prove it.”

I grabbed the piece of iron, which was the size of an index finger. I had called it a key, but its true nature was different.

A kind of artifact that only those with the qualifications could awaken.

I gently imbued it with mana. As someone who had learned the Reverse Heaven Cultivation Method, I could feel it instinctively.

How to operate this artifact.

‘Originally, it would have required an extremely high level of internal energy.’

But it was different for me, the orthodox successor of the Heaven-Shattering Demon. I slowly operated the Reverse Heaven Cultivation Method while holding the key and created mana.

The greedy power that went up along the qi and blood engraved by the cultivation method and ate up its insight was formed in my palm and colored the key.

Woooong-

A wave of qi that resonated in the area. Soon, the gaps in the piece of iron made of cold iron opened, and a five-colored radiance spewed out from within.

“What is this…?”

Oh Chosam’s dumbfounded voice was heard, and before I knew it, the key I was holding had disassembled into pieces and was floating in the air in the shape of a sword.

The sight of the resonance and the true qi filling the gaps like a current and emitting a flash was like seeing a holy sword from a myth.

As soon as I gathered the energy, the pieces of the sword were fitted together as if they were alive and were recovered into my palm.

In the middle of the bamboo forest where a silence had fallen. What broke the silence was a single remark from this side.

“This is worth a joint venture, isn’t it?”

(End of Chapter)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep