Bu Eunseol, having laughed cold and hard, fixed his gaze upon Woo Hak and spoke with biting confidence. “The intelligence organization of the Thousand Sword Society is woefully incompetent.”
“What?”
“I won’t blame you for failing to discern his true colors immediately. But you should properly reorganize your eyes and ears.” Bu Eunseol looked down at Woo Hak, his eyes frigid. “His true nature and evil deeds have already been laid bare to the whole world. What outdated story are you clinging to?”
“This bastard is spouting reckless nonsense.”
“Look into it again.”
“Hmph. There is no need. Seeing your insolent manner of speech—”
Bu Eunseol cut off Woo Hak’s words like a blade. “If you kill someone without investigating properly, do you not know you become the very villain you claim to despise? You would be slaughtering the innocent.”
At those words, Woo Hak clamped his mouth shut, momentarily at a loss.
“You…”
“Good.”
At that moment, Seok Song, standing atop the altar, laughed as if the situation were absurd. “When you say such things, you must be prepared for the consequences, correct?”
“No preparation is needed.” Bu Eunseol’s voice remained unnervingly calm. “Send someone right now to verify. If there is anything worthy of being called an intelligence organization within the Thousand Sword Society, you will find evidence detailing his depravity.”
“What?”
Just then, a middle-aged man without a mask sprinted hurriedly through the altar’s entrance. By his attire, he was clearly an operative of the Thousand Sword Society.
“His words are true.”
“What did you say?”
As Seok Song and Woo Hak displayed genuine shock, the messenger scratched his head awkwardly. “As of yesterday, the evil deeds of ‘that man’ have spread to intelligence organizations throughout the Murim.”
The operative leaned in, whispering urgent details to Seok Song and Woo Hak. Watching the scene unfold, a faint smile ghosted across Bu Eunseol’s lips beneath his mask.
I have a request.
Before departing the East Drifter, West Wanderer, he had asked a single favor of the Hall Lord, Do Myeong: to unearth evidence proving Yeop Hwa’s crimes and disseminate it to every intelligence broker in the land.
Bu Eunseol had to continue traveling the Gangho. He had anticipated that bearing the false accusation of murdering a famous hero of the Orthodox Faction would place significant obstacles in his path.
“Hmm.”
Seok Song and Woo Hak, having listened to the report, exchanged heavy glances.
Even if this is a lie, we cannot deal with that guy right now.
It was because of Bu Eunseol’s warning. If they executed him without proper investigation, only for his innocence to be proven later, they would indeed become villains who murdered a civilian.
“The truth of this will be revealed properly in the future.” Woo Hak groaned, narrowing his eyes. “For now, we will not mete out punishment to you.”
“Rest assured,” Bu Eunseol replied coolly. “Soon, rumors of his crimes and lewd acts will spread not only to the intelligence factions but throughout the entire Murim.”
From the perspective of East Drifter, West Wanderer, which handled dangerous tasks for coin, intelligence was their lifeline. Since the information was guaranteed by their Lord, the rumor would spread like wildfire.
“If this turns out to be false, there will be no place for you to stand.”
“Such a thing will not happen.”
At Bu Eunseol’s firm rebuttal, Woo Hak pivoted the conversation. “Then let us begin the test now.”
Grrrr-rumble.
With a heavy grinding of stone, a square wall rose from the earth on one side of the wide clearing. A vivid picture was engraved upon its surface.
“The first test is to figure out the martial arts move hidden in this picture.”
The mural was bizarre, rendered in full color.
It depicted a cliff deep within a mountain range where white snow fell in heavy sheets. A woman was fighting a tiger with a dagger. The beast was frozen in a pounce, claws bared and teeth gnashing, while the woman held three daggers in one hand, appearing to stab at the tiger’s neck, chest, and lower abdomen simultaneously.
Woo Hak explained, “If you have figured out the hidden martial art, enter the door behind this altar. Brother Seok will judge whether you pass or fail. The time limit is one shichen (two hours). If you cannot decypher the move within that time, you are eliminated.”
At Seok Song’s signal, the martial artists in the clearing rushed toward the wall, jostling for a better view.
Dual swords are common in the Murim, but there is no one who uses three swords in one hand.
Bu Eunseol, standing at a distance, frowned as he analyzed the mural.
There is another strange point.
The ferocious face of the tiger was detailed, yet the woman’s face was blank. Seeing that her jawline was distinct, the omission was clearly intentional.
No matter how agile and brave a tiger is, it cannot defeat a martial arts master holding a sword. But…
Although her face was missing, judging by the woman’s posture, she appeared flustered, driven onto the defensive.
“Nothing special.”
At that moment, a figure turned away from the picture and moved toward the stone chamber. It was Tang Gon, wearing the fox mask. Had he already discovered the hidden secret? Leaving the buzzing crowd behind, he disappeared through the door on the altar.
Silence flowed for a moment before Seok Song’s thick voice resonated from within.
“Pass.”
Most of the martial artists in the clearing were flustered by the speed of it, some stomping their feet in panic.
“Ah, I get it!”
A candidate wearing a rat mask seemed to realize something and quickly ascended the stairs. But a moment later, Seok Song’s solemn voice rang out again.
“Wrong.”
The door opened, and the rat-masked man emerged, scratching his head in confusion. Woo Hak, watching the scene, extended a hand toward the exit.
“You are eliminated.”
“Pardon?” The man raised his voice sharply. “Didn’t you say we had one shichen? I didn’t hear that getting it wrong meant instant elimination.”
“In the middle of fighting an enemy, if a move fails, is that the end?” Woo Hak’s expression was grim. “In actual combat, the failure of a single move leads to the loss of one’s life. Did you not feel that, even after seeing this picture?”
The man stammered, “I just thought there was a hidden martial arts move…”
“This test is a simulacrum of combat. You cannot make mistakes multiple times.”
Woo Hak’s voice was strict. Although they were not physically fighting, this process was a ruthless competition. Mistakes were fatal. Hearing the generous time limit, the man had committed a blunder in his haste.
“Understood.”
Shoulders slumping, the rat-masked man trembled lightly and stormed out the exit.
Hmm.
Bu Eunseol, ignoring the drama, fell into a trance as he dissected the wall’s image.
Indeed, it is worthy of Tang Gon noticing first.
Bu Eunseol had already found the martial art hidden in the picture. The image depicted not a woman holding three daggers, but scattering hidden weapons in three different directions.
Capable of throwing three types of hidden weapon techniques with one hand… indeed.
There were many techniques capable of throwing dozens of projectiles in a single volley, but those who could execute different techniques with one hand were rare.
The tiger’s posture revealed the principle of the technique. The beast’s face and lower body were twisted in different directions. It seemed to be pouncing dynamically, but in reality, it illustrated the formula for throwing weapons on divergent trajectories.
“Pass.”
In the meantime, about ten masters succeeded and moved to the next stone chamber.
Bu Eunseol had grasped the technique but did not move. No matter how he looked at it, something was dubious.
It seems something is missing.
An unknown sense of incongruity gnawed at him. Because the feeling refused to dissipate, he remained rooted to the spot. Before he knew it, only four people, including himself, remained in the empty clearing. The other three were staring at the picture, sweating cold beads of anxiety, unable to find even a clue.
Is he not an outstanding genius?
Woo Hak looked at Bu Eunseol and shook his head. Even at a glance, the young man possessed an outstanding bearing, yet he was struggling at the first trial.
“One gak (15 minutes) left.”
At Woo Hak’s warning, the three challengers startled and scrambled up to the test stand in a panic. But Bu Eunseol continued to observe the picture with leisurely focus.
Hmm.
The more he looked, the stronger the sense of heterogeneity became. Encountering a tiger on a sheer cliff in a snowy mountain was probabilistically impossible.
Was that it?
Beneath the feet of the woman who seemed to be dodging the tiger’s leap, a few small dots of snow were splashing upwards. It could be interpreted as artistic dynamism, but in Bu Eunseol’s eyes, it looked like a very specific diagram of movement.
If one unfolds the hidden weapon technique while stepping the footwork according to that direction…
A technique extending three types of hidden weapons in a single second. And footwork moving in perfect accordance with it. Bu Eunseol unfolded those two martial arts simultaneously in his mind.
This is…
Realization struck. Bu Eunseol finally entered the examination hall. Inside, torches replaced the oil lamps, casting long shadows, and Seok Song stood in a solemn posture.
“Can you tell what the martial art in the picture is?”
“It is a single move of fist art.”
“Fist art?”
As an unexpected answer returned, a strange radiance flowed from Seok Song’s eyes. “Can you show me what kind of fist art it is?”
Nodding, Bu Eunseol physically enacted the synthesis of the hidden weapon technique and the footwork hidden in the mural.
Swish.
As he extended his arm, his fist fractured into three distinct shadows, cutting through the stagnant air. Mixing the projectile trajectory and the footwork resulted in a wondrous, cohesive fist art.
“I see.” Seok Song nodded, impressed. “Pass.”
Bu Eunseol lightly clasped his hands and turned to leave.
“Wait.”
Seok Song called out. “How did you know there were two martial arts in the picture?”
“What do you mean?”
“We gave you a limited time of one shichen. And told you to find the martial art in the picture.” Seok Song narrowed his eyes. “In a competitive situation with a time limit, everyone’s instinct is to find the quickest solution. That is human nature.” He paused, lowering his voice. “Why did you keep looking to find two?”
“You didn’t say there was only one martial art, did you?”
“Did you not feel impatient?”
“You said to solve it within time; you didn’t say it was first come, first served.” Bu Eunseol spoke as if stating the obvious. “I just found as much as I could find within that time.”
It was a simple answer, but admiration lingered in Seok Song’s eyes. He grasped that Bu Eunseol possessed eyes that pierced through surface appearances to the essence.
“Most of those who passed so far grasped one hidden weapon technique and passed with that.” Seok Song wore a faint smile. “A few outstanding geniuses noticed even the footwork. But there was no one who combined those two martial arts to create a single fist art like you.”
Seok Song looked at Bu Eunseol and nodded approvingly. “I will look forward to the next trial as well.”
“Understood.”
Despite Seok Song’s burning gaze, Bu Eunseol nodded without emotion and moved on to the next trial.
His personality is too cold. Being cool-headed is a virtue, but it also creates many enemies.
Seok Song smacked his lips. He guessed at a glance that Bu Eunseol possessed the best aptitude among the geniuses gathered here. But the man’s personality seemed heartless—cold-blooded, even. Such a personality was destined for loneliness, often roaming the Gangho without mingling with others.
Our Society was also created by masters who were tired of being lone wolves in the Gangho.
The Murim is a place where one cannot survive alone. Seok Song, holding such a view, felt a slight pity for the young man.
Perhaps it is useless greed to want everything.
Now was not the time to be picky about a genius’s personality. They had to find a successor to learn the sword art created by the Thousand Sword Society and definitely kill “that person.”