Dongbang Yeol's bombshell sent a stir through the entrants.
BOOM--!
Dongbang Yeol stomped the ground and bellowed.
"Silence!!"
The entrants flinched, their bodies freezing in place.
Dongbang Yeol's brow creased into deep furrows.
"This class of cadet candidates is particularly mouthy. If anyone has complaints, feel free to leave the Demon Cultivation Grotto right now. No one will stop you."
But not a single soul moved to leave.
Their reasons for entering differed, but they had all come here with a purpose.
The cadet candidates' eyes sharpened with resolve.
"I respect your decision. Then I'll take it that you all intend to stay, and I'll explain the rules! There is only one thing you need to know!"
Dongbang Yeol raised his fist.
"Crush the other side by any means necessary!"
"......"
"No limits on methods! Band together if you wish. Stand alone if you dare. Even acts that the outside world would condemn as cowardly are permitted here. Prove your worth!"
Only the strong survive; the weak are culled.
A true law of the jungle.
The entrants' eyes darted back and forth.
'I can probably take that guy on somehow. What do I do-- try to ambush him?'
'Son of a bitch, don't tell me he's been playing nice just so he can steal my spot?'
The jockeying had begun.
Dongbang Yeol stood on the platform with his hands clasped behind his back, watching the scene unfold below.
'I can hear the gears grinding from all the way up here.'
Among them, there would be no one worth noting.
Because a true powerhouse never loses composure, no matter the circumstances.
Just like those five in the front row.
'So this is what it means to be the scions of the Five Great Demon Sects.'
Geom Baek-hyeon of the Sword Demon Sect.
Geo Ak of the Blade Demon Sect.
Hwa Mu-yeong of the Phantom Demon Sect.
Ju Myo-ryeon of the Sound Demon Sect.
Ha Pae-un of the Rampage Demon Sect.
Their auras were keen yet unwavering.
'They sent nothing but the best again this time.'
That alone told him how much the five sects had invested in this session of the Demon Cultivation Grotto.
At present, each of the five sects-- minus the Poison Demon Sect-- had produced one disciple of the Sacred God.
'This is the trial to select the Sacred God's final disciple. Depending on who is chosen, the balance of power shifts entirely.'
But there was something none of them had anticipated.
Dongbang Yeol's gaze moved to the woman occupying the Number One position.
She was trembling, as if gripped by terror.
The woman clutched her sword to her chest as though clinging to it for comfort.
'The bloodline the Cheon clan has hidden away....'
The woman's name was Cheon Yeon-hwa.
The supreme lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Cheon Mu-jin, was officially known to have no children.
But there had been whispers circulating in secret.
That Cheon Mu-jin had taken a woman in a clandestine union and sired a child.
'I never thought the rumors were true.'
At first, Dongbang Yeol had held high expectations.
The seat of the Heavenly Demon was not hereditary-- but with only one exception, it had always been claimed by the Cheon clan.
The martial talent displayed by those who bore the Cheon name had been nothing short of overwhelming.
But upon actually seeing Cheon Yeon-hwa, Dongbang Yeol could not hide his disappointment.
'I may have given away the Number One seat for nothing. Trusting the Inner Court's word was a mistake.'
The Inner Court of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had been emphatic.
Under no circumstances was Cheon Yeon-hwa to be left unattended.
In situations where blood could be spilled, or when the Grotto's trials were underway, instructors were to be deployed in force around her.
So he had expected something, but as far as Dongbang Yeol could tell, Cheon Yeon-hwa was nothing more than a coward.
'Tiger father, dog son.'
Come to think of it, there was one other who fit that description.
'Dok Un-hyeok.'
The Disgrace of the Poison Demon Sect.
It was ironic, in a way.
The only clan to have ever seized the Heavenly Demon's seat from the Cheon clan was the Dok clan.
Yet despite that legacy, both Dok Un-hyeok and Cheon Yeon-hwa would likely be eliminated in the very first trial.
'Earlier, it looked like he got into it with the Fierce Twin Mutts. Bad luck.'
The Fierce Twin Demons was the title Jin Paeng and Yeong Gu-rang had bestowed upon themselves.
In reality, the instructors called them the Fierce Twin Mutts.
They had such vile tempers that once they sank their teeth into prey, they never let go until the deed was done.
And when the two joined forces, they were said to be more than a match for a first-rate expert.
'Not that it's any of my concern.'
Dongbang Yeol quickly lost interest in them.
The only ones who warranted his attention were those who showed promise as the Sacred God's disciple.
"Now then, the first trial shall--"
Dongbang Yeol's voice echoed through the Demon Cultivation Grotto.
"--begin!"
***
While everyone else was still sizing each other up.
With a mane of hair like the claws of a lion-beast.
Geo Ak-- eight feet of towering muscle-- unsheathed the great saber from his back.
"KAHAHA! Now this is what I like! I've been waiting for a day like this!"
THWAP--!
Geo Ak launched himself into the air.
He swung the great saber in a wide arc at the cold-faced young man, Geom Baek-hyeon.
"Tch."
Geom Baek-hyeon drew his own sword in an instant and blocked Geo Ak's strike.
KRAAASH--!
The qi pressure the two generated was so immense that the other rising stars could barely keep their footing.
"Ugh...! These monsters! How is this the level of rising stars?!"
"Insane-- they only traded one blow, and how many people just got knocked out?!"
Geo Ak's blazing gaze and Baek-hyeon's frigid stare locked together.
"Geom Baek-hyeon, let's have it out!"
"...Brutish fool. I've no time to waste on the likes of you."
Before entering the Grotto.
Baek-hyeon had been certain he would be given the Number One position among the rising stars.
In terms of background and skill alike.
Indeed, most of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult considered Geom Baek-hyeon the finest of the rising generation.
But upon arrival, some unknown woman he had never seen or heard of occupied the seat above his own.
'What is that woman, and why...?'
What Baek-hyeon needed to do was clear.
'Take the Number One seat.'
He tried to brush past Geo Ak and bring down the current Number One.
But it was maddening.
'She was right there a moment ago. Where the hell did she disappear to?'
Not that Geo Ak would let him look away, of course.
CLANG--! CLA-CLA-CLANG--!
Geo Ak pressed his assault and roared.
"Eyes over here! Geom Baek-hyeon, your opponent is me!"
"Tch."
If this kept up, even Baek-hyeon risked losing to Geo Ak.
"...No choice, then."
Geom Baek-hyeon unleashed his own power.
His aura transformed, sharp and honed as a well-tempered blade.
"I was going to go easy on you, but you brought this on yourself."
"Heh heh! That's what I wanted!"
With those two as the spark, the other rising stars drew their own weapons.
The fighting spread like wildfire, and the entrance ceremony devolved into a free-for-all in an instant.
And Un-hyeok was right in the middle of it.
"...So it's started."
Un-hyeok glanced around and let out a short sigh.
The gap between himself and the upper-ranked entrants was painfully apparent.
Those at the front each displayed the martial arts of their respective sects, engaging in proper combat.
Meanwhile, the lot near the back where Un-hyeok stood were hopelessly out of their depth.
"I... I have no choice! If I want to survive this place, I have to trample you!"
One swung his sword with his eyes squeezed shut.
"N-no! I don't want to die in a place like this!"
Another had gone weak at the knees, unable to even flee, and simply crumpled to the ground.
And then....
'What's that?'
A woman, tucked into a corner, crouching in a ball.
However she had managed to conceal her presence so thoroughly--
no one aside from Un-hyeok seemed to even realize she was hiding there.
'I didn't notice her before. How long has she been there?'
He could not see her face, but the woman was clearly terrified.
Her hands were clamped over her ears, and her shoulders trembled as she huddled on the ground.
As he watched, a strange sense of deja vu washed over him.
'Her build... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.'
Then something flashed through Un-hyeok's mind.
'Wait-- could it be...?!'
He slowly approached and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.
She nearly leapt out of her skin.
"EEK, AAAHH...!"
In that instant, her face filled his vision.
An oval face with luminous, pale skin.
A high, straight nose and elegant eyes-- the woman's features were breathtakingly beautiful, enough to be called a peerless beauty.
"You're...."
Un-hyeok seized her shoulder roughly.
The one he had been searching for was right before his eyes.
"Cheon Yeon-hwa!"
"Wh-what?!"
Un-hyeok's eyes blazed.
"I knew you'd be here!"
His hand reached for the hilt of a Dragon Fang Poison Sword.
Just how wide was the gap between himself and Cheon Yeon-hwa right now?
"Let's fi--"
SHING--!
The moment Un-hyeok drew the Dragon Fang Poison Sword.
An absurd scene unfolded before him.
"P-please, spare me!"
"...What?"
Yeon-hwa, her eyes screwed shut, begged in a trembling voice.
"I d-don't want to fight anyone. So please, don't draw your sword."
Ridiculous.
Un-hyeok brought the Dragon Fang Poison Sword to her throat.
"Bullshit. You think I'm going to fall for that kind of act?"
"Hiii...!"
The color drained from Yeon-hwa's face.
"I-I mean it. Please believe me!"
"......"
"I-if you want my position... you c-can have it! So please, just spare my life...."
"...Ha!"
He could not believe it.
On the outside, she was the spitting image of Cheon Yeon-hwa, but her nature was nothing like the woman Un-hyeok had known.
A blood-starved fiend.
Where was the woman who smiled with ecstatic joy as she butchered her way through a battlefield?
Instead, here was someone who looked as though she could not even harm an ant.
'Is this woman really Cheon Yeon-hwa?'
No matter how he looked at it, she did not seem to be putting on an act.
With things turning out this way, even Un-hyeok began to doubt himself.
'Could Cheon Yeon-hwa have had a twin?'
It was entirely plausible.
Even in his past life, information about Cheon Yeon-hwa had been extremely limited.
"Hmm...."
After a moment of thought, Un-hyeok spoke slowly.
"...How long have you been here?"
"Th-that is...."
"You'd better tell the truth. I can kill you right here and now."
When Un-hyeok pressed the Dragon Fang Poison Sword closer to her throat, Yeon-hwa stammered out an answer.
"S-since the beginning... I came straight here. I th-thought no one would pay attention to me if I hid here.... I don't really have much of a presence, so...."
"Do you have a sister, or a twin by chance?"
"...Huh? N-no. I'm an only child...."
Good grief....
Was this quivering coward really Cheon Yeon-hwa?
Just as Un-hyeok grew more uncertain about her identity--
'Killing intent!'
Un-hyeok shoved Yeon-hwa's shoulder aside.
"KYAAH!"
A saber came slicing through the gap between them.
CRASH--!
Yeon-hwa tumbled backward onto her rear.
"Ow, owow...."
Un-hyeok's head snapped toward the direction the saber had come from.
Two men were swaggering toward them.
The one with the saber resting on his shoulder was Jin Paeng, and the one twirling a blade as he approached was Yeong Gu-rang.
Jin Paeng spoke with a sneer dripping from every word.
"Tch, lucky son of a bitch. Can't believe you dodged that."
"You two."
Un-hyeok stepped forward, placing himself between them and Yeon-hwa.
Then he spoke to her over his shoulder.
"Stay hidden here. I'll be back."
But the woman's eyes were darting around, clearly scheming to bolt at any moment.
So Un-hyeok added one more thing.
"If you so much as think about running, I'll hunt you down and kill you."
HICK--!
Realizing it was no bluff, the woman nodded frantically.
"O-okay...."
Meanwhile, Jin Paeng and Yeong Gu-rang had already closed in.
Gu-rang glanced at Yeon-hwa and purred in a sleazy tone.
"Well, well, Dok Un-hyeok. Looked like the mood was pretty good over here. Who's the lady? Don't keep her all to yourself-- why not introduce us?"
"......"
"That's right, Dok Un-hyeok. It's still not too late. The Dragon Fang Poison Swords...."
Jin Paeng trailed off, stealing a glance at the woman.
She possessed the kind of beauty any man would covet.
His eyes glistened with lust.
"And hand over that woman too. Do that, and I'll forgive your rudeness from earlier."
"Yeah, count yourself lucky. Normally, we'd have killed you and taken them, but we can't exactly spill blood in front of a delicate young lady."
Un-hyeok let out a hollow laugh.
"Hah. What a joke."
"...What?"
"How unfortunate. That you two have this little sense. I let you off once, and instead of crawling back to your holes, you come sniffing around again."
Jin Paeng finally snapped.
"The mouth on this bastard-- you looking to die?"
Jin Paeng swung his saber at Un-hyeok.
SNICK--!
Suddenly, the arm gripping the saber was floating in the air from the elbow down.
'Huh? Why is my arm over there...?'
A moment later, blood erupted from the stump where his arm had been.
Only then did the pain hit.
"AGH, AAAGHHH!"
Jin Paeng collapsed to his knees, clutching the severed stump.
The cold edge of a Dragon Fang Poison Sword pressed against his throat.
"Let me make this crystal clear. This is what happens when you covet what's mine."