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Chapter 11

The Great Martial Path Entrance Exam (4)

A wave of murmuring rippled through the crowd.

What shocked everyone present more than the fact that the Haljo could speak in a human voice, and more than Kang Yitae’s movement, was Yise’s reaction.

In the middle of all this chaos, he was still deep in his meditation. The tiny spark of Spirit Qi injected by the Haljo flowed through the boy’s body and grew livelier with each passing moment. It feels like his body was bathed in Spirit Herb.

With this spark as a catalyst, the energies that had been hiding without a place to settle began making their presence known.

‘He fell into a deep meditative trance with a blade at his throat?’

Kang Yitae could only laugh in disbelief.

Even if the boy was in the midst of gaining enlightenment, he should still be able to hear Kang Yitae’s voice. Not only had he been accused of being a Demonic Sect, but there was also literally a blade of full killing intent resting at his throat.

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Kang Yitae could only laugh in disbelief.

Even if the boy was in the midst of gaining enlightenment, he should still be able to hear Kang Yitae’s voice. Not only had he been accused of being a Demonic Sect, but there was also literally a blade of full killing intent resting at his throat.

It might sound like he was bragging, but Kang Yitae was capable of crushing a Qi Condensation Realm Cultivator to death by just using his aura alone.

The pressure he was actively leaking right now should have been impossible for a novice to endure and the proctors are scrambling backward in terror. And yet, this kid still dares to focus on his enlightenment without any regard for the outside situation.

He was like a man starving for the Dao.

This single-mindedness had long surpassed mere bravado and bordered on insanity.

One of the proctors stepped forward and addressed Kang Yitae.

“Pavilion Master, must you dispose of him. It is the Great Martial Path protocol to detect a Demonic Sect spy upon discovery.”

“Wait.”

Kang Yitae lowered his sword and his killing intent.

The proctor wasn’t wrong, of course. But there was another ironclad rule they had to consider.

“It is equally a fundamental principle of the Great Martial Path to protect a disciple at the risk of one’s own life if they are in the midst of a breakthrough.”

“But this person is…”

“Not a disciple yet. And he hasn’t been confirmed as a spy, either. The Demonic Qi in his body is suspicious, but no Demonic Sect is stupid enough to send an infiltrator who already reeks of Demonic Qi.”

Kang Yitae’s killing intent gradually receded and vanished as he sorted out the weight of the situation in his own mind.

“If this is a reaction of some rare constitution, then protecting the enlightenment of a potential disciple comes first. Clear everyone out and continue the trial elsewhere. The three of you proctors and I will stand guard. You, go send some student to us at sundry Pavilion Masters in the vicinity.”

The proctors bowed and moved immediately at the decisive order, and the one singled out shot off right away.

The trial was suspended for the time being.

The rest of the applicants were corralled to the far side of the yard, murmuring among themselves in hushed tones while Kang Yitae and the proctors formed a circle around Yise.

While all that was happening outside, a fierce battle was unfolding inside Yise’s body.

The moment the Haljo’s beak pierced his heart, it was like a giant boulder had dropped onto a perfectly still lake.

A crown-shaped ripple blossomed across the surface, sending far-reaching shockwaves through every corner of his body.

Two things happened almost instantly.

First, the ominous energy that had occupied a corner of his body began to rear its ugly head. Second, a type of energy that he had never even known existed in his body began swelling in size and clashing head-on with the ominous energy.

Like oil meeting water, the two energies refused to mix. They were always pushing against each other until they erupted in a frenzy of explosions.

Every time it happens, it feels like his insides are burning.

As nausea rose and cold sweat broke out, Yise’s intuition told him something.

That if he collapsed here without onboarding on, his body would be half-paralyzed.

The two energies raged completely beyond his will.

Strangely enough, every time they thrashed about and slammed into different parts of his body, his bones and muscles felt like they were fracturing and knitting back together before growing harder and denser than ever before.

He was fairly sure he had heard voices saying something about what to do with him, but the sounds of the outside world stopped reaching him entirely at some point.

He didn’t know how much time had passed outside.

Suddenly, a loud cracking sound came from deep inside his body.

He felt hot, yet also freezing cold. His ears felt like they were about to burst, yet the outside world felt silent.

The two energies had been clashing and churning against each other gradually began to settled and drifted through his body while maintaining a wary distance toward each other.

It felt like his body had formed a fragile balance. And from its closed eyes, he could see the inside of his own body like it had become transparent.

He could see the flow of blood coursing along his acupoints. He could see the flow of Spirit Qi leisurely circulating right next to it. And he could see the ominous Demonic Qi drifting in a viscous flow.

By the time he opened his eyes, Yise understood the true meaning of Spiritual Awakening.

An entirely different world from the one he had lived in until now unfolded before him.

It was a radiant field bathed in golden light where the spirit Qi and Demonic Qi that made up the world were differentiated by color.

“Wow, this kid is real piece of work. Look, I don’t care if you just unlocked your Spirit Spirts, but are you seriously just going to ignore the seniors standing right in front of you? Watch where you’re looking, brat.”

Only then did ise look at the four adults surrounding him.

Chief Examiner Kang Yitae. A woman with red hair that burned like fire. A massively built man dressed in tiger-skin clothes.

And… A female ghostkin who looked strangely familiar.

Despite the rest of the world being saturated with glowing Spirit Qi, Yise couldn’t sense a single drop of energy coming from the four people standing around him.

Actually, it was more accurate to say that he wouldn’t let him sense it. It was like they were completely wrapped in invisible barriers that rejected his attempts to scan them.

“My apologies.” Yise instantly snapped to attention and bowed his head.

Now that he was fully conscious again, the shear pressure radiating off them was terrifying.

Was this what it felt like to be crushed at the bottom of the ocean? It felt like a thousand-pound boulder was strapped to his shoulders.

Judging solely by the auras they exuded, they were undoubtedly senior heavyweights of the Great Martial Path. His longing such monstrously powerful seniors to focus on his own cultivation was definitely a chefeque of a future as a junior.

“Never mind the small talk. Explain the Demonic Qi in your body. And you’d better have a way to prove you’re not a Demonic Sect spy.”

In response to Kang Yitae’s words, Yise turned to the woman who appeared to be a Ghostkin.

With a Ghostkin among the Great Martial Path’s senior members, telling the truth probably wouldn’t cause any trouble. But Yise wanted to be careful up until the very end.

“Am I allowed to speak at my ties with the Ghostkin?”

Hearing his question, the Ghostkin woman tilted her head in confusion. “Why are you asking me? The Ghostkin and the Great Martial Path are in an alliance, so there is no need to be over cautious.”

And so he laid out his story without holding back.

“Ah! So you’re the boy that Big Sis Mong Ryeon recently took in right! I heard your name was… Isiseel Right?”

“It’s Yise.”

“Right! Right! That was the name. Nice to meet you. I’m Gong Wol-ah. I’m basically a little sister to Big Sis Mong Ryeon. By what didn’t Yitae know? Didn’t you ite on your application…?”

Gong Wol-ah. That name was similar to Gong Are. Yise wondered what the connection the two of them had.

(TL Note: Gong-Ah’s complete name.)

He kept to himself that Ghoskin names were so similar it was going to be a nightmare trying to keep track of who was who.

Kang Yitae shrugged and showed Yise his application form.

The field for affiliation was left completely blank.

“If you’re a disciple of Mong Ryeon, your identity would already be clear. Why didn’t you say so?”

“I wasn’t sure whether I was allowed to speak about the Ghostkin. I was also worried that doing so might bring dishonor or harm to our clan. As for the Demonic Qi inside me, I’m not entirely sure myself… but I believe it’s because a spirit long time living in Ghostkin territory.”

The red-haired woman had been listening, he had been listening, and he nodded his head in agreement.

“Well. It is a bit cheeky, but I respect the loyalty. Personally, I like kids with that kind of spine.”

The man in tiger-skin clothes had been quietly listening, and he nodded his head in agreement.

Kang Yitae fell into deep thought as if deliberating, then exchanged glances with the other Pavilion Masters.

“Very well then. Since three other Zaidan Pavilions have vouched for it, we’ll consider the spy accusations dismissed for now. Pavilion Master Hong Mi-hee, are you able to make sense of the Demonic Qi inside his body?”

“Hold on. Let me get a closer look. Stay still for me, kid.”

The red-haired woman pressed her hand to Yise’s chest and Spirit Qi carrying a warm heat swept through his body in one full cycle.

“I can’t say for sure, but… Whoa, I think it’s the Heavenly Demon Dual-Meridian Constitution.”

The second those words left her mouth, the other three Pavilion Masters’ eyes flashed with a gleam.

Yise was dying to ask what that meant, but he held his tongue and just continued. He knew better than to interrupt his seniors talking.

Hong Mi-hee noticed and continued her explanation, “Put simply, it’s a constitution capable of freely wielding both Spirit Qi and Demonic Qi. You don’t have to face the Heavenly Tribulation as punishment for using Demonic Qi, and you don’t have to worry about accumulating karmic debt, either.”

“Wait, you don’t mean it’s the same as the Lord’s…?”

“That’s right. It’s the same as the Lord’s constitution. He’s the first one we’ve seen in three centuries.”

In that moment, Yise felt the change in their eyes.

It was a little too due to be called greed, but way too intense to be simple curiosity.

Yise quickly deduced that it was the desire to claim a rare talent for themselves.

“And considering he literally opened his Spirit eyes just by sitting down, and instantly broke through to the Meridian Awakening stage of Qi Condensation, his talent is completely off the charts.”

“Hey, if you come join the Guijin Pavilion, I will throw my all support behind you.”

“Pavilion Master Ban Ho, bribing and soliciting a new recruit is a direct violation of sect rules. Especially considering he technically hasn’t passed the exams yet.”

Ban Ho scrunched his face at Kang Yitae’s words.

“Bribing? Soliciting? I’m just giving him some friendly career advice. Though I’d imagine you want him quite a bit yourself?”

“Not to that extent.”

Bullshit! Your eyes are literally shining with greed right now!”

“—Pavilion Master.”

“Then how about this. We keep it between us and don’t tell the other Pavilion Masters.”

“That goes against protocol. Not that we could keep it hidden even if we tried.”

“You stubborn fool.”

“Pardon me for interrupting.”

Yise, who had been quietly listening to Pavilion Masters argue this whole time, softly raised his hand.

He had been trying to stay as still as possible given his situation, but their conversation showed no signs of ending anytime soon.

Judging by the fact that there were nobody else around the area, the trial seemed to have already concluded, and there were daily routines and rules he needed to keep to.

Pavilion Masters seemed to be viewing him favorably, so he figured he could ask a little more boldly.

“What is it?”

“I think I’ve awakened my Spirit Qi, but is it normal for it not to move the way I want it to?”

“Yes. Learning how to bend it to your will is the entire point of the next stage.”

“Ah, I see. And one more thing. Even though the Spirit Qi and the Demonic Qi are currently flowing through different locations… they seem hostile to each other whenever they get close. Is it all right to just leave them like that?”

All four Pavilion Masters went silent at that question.

Hong Mi-hee seemed to be the most knowledgeable on the matter among all as their eyes turned to her.

“We don’t know.”

“Pardon?”

“Kid, not only is this a constitution that no one but the Lord of the Great Martial Path has ever possessed, but the entire modern cultivation system as a whole was completely rewritten from the ground up three centuries ago. There’s essentially no information on a special constitution like this.”

“In that case, if I do end up joining the Great Martial Path, would I be able to meet the Lord?”

Pavilion Masters exchanged glances, then burst out laughing.

“The esteemed person ascended to the Celestial Realm three hundred years ago. How exactly were you planning to meet them? What, are you gonna hold a seance and try to summon his spirit?”

Yise blinked.

What do you mean he has to summon his spirit just to ask questions???