The Rising Martial Arts Genius

Chapter 9: Trial (2)

Cho-su led the two of them through a door on one side of the building.

Once outside, they found a wide open area, and Cho-su led Jang Woo-hyun and Hwang An to a long corridor at the far end of the area.

“The special exam is divided into two parts. The first is a test of your evasion and defense abilities, which will be conducted here. Who would like to go first?”

“I’ll go first.”

Hwang An rotated his arms and stepped forward.

Cho-su instructed Hwang An to stand at the far end of the corridor, in a spot marked with a large circle.

“Arrows with their tips removed will be shot from inside. You’ll need to dodge or block them within that limited space. The arrows will be shot three times. Let me know when you’re ready.”

Hwang An drew his weapon, a short spear about three feet (90 cm) long, including the blade.

“I’m ready.”

At his response, Cho-su raised his hand and waved it.

Clang. Click.

The sound of machinery started, and arrows flew from the far end of the corridor.

Four arrows were fired in succession.

Hwang An knocked away two with his spear and dodged the remaining two.

Click.

The sound of reloading came again, followed by a second wave of arrows.

This time, six arrows were fired, split into three at a time.

“Hup!”

Hwang An inhaled briefly and swung his spear quickly, deflecting all the incoming arrows.

The third wave followed immediately.

This time, eight arrows came flying at once.

The speed was noticeably different from the first two rounds.

Recognizing the power behind the arrows, Hwang An moved differently.

His body swayed as if he were about to stumble, resembling a drunken person, but he neither fell nor misstepped.

With his peculiar footwork, none of the eight powerful arrows even brushed his clothes, and they all fell to the ground behind him.

“It’s done.”

Cho-su waved his hand again, signaling the end of the test.

“Hoo.”

Hwang An exhaled the breath he had been holding.

Though it seemed simple, dodging eight arrows simultaneously in a confined space was no easy task.

“You have considerable skill.”

“Haha, this was just a simple warm-up.”

Feigning modesty, Hwang An approached Jang Woo-hyun.

“Now it’s your turn. It’s harder than it looks, you know. Are you sure you’re ready?”

Jang Woo-hyun smiled slightly at his question and stepped forward.

As he stood in the same spot Hwang An had just occupied, Cho-su raised his hand again, signaling the people operating the mechanism.

The machinery hummed, and the first wave of arrows flew.

Four arrows.

There was no need to dodge.

The speed wasn’t fast, and the power was weak.

Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack.

Jang Woo-hyun casually swung his sword, deflecting all four arrows.

“Huh?”

“Hmm.”

Both Cho-su and Hwang An were slightly surprised at his nonchalant manner.

Even though the first arrows were easy, Jang Woo-hyun had blocked them far too effortlessly.

While the two of them stared in disbelief, the second wave of arrows was fired.

This time, instead of knocking them away, Jang Woo-hyun placed the flat of his blade against the shafts of the arrows.

He was imitating a sword path he had seen while sparring with the two martial artists from the Blue Star Sect.

It was a sword technique different from the Tiger Form Sword, which relied solely on strength.

Instead of swinging the sword with force, he mimicked the smoothness of the Blue Star Sect’s swordsmanship.

He gently guided the arrows with the flat of his sword, causing them to change direction and fall to the ground.

From the side, it looked as if he was just stirring the air with his sword.

As he swung his sword in the air, all six arrows changed direction and embedded themselves in the ground.

‘Is this what a soft sword is?’

Even though he had only imitated it briefly, he had already gained something.

Rather than swinging hard and fast, this swordsmanship deflected the opponent’s attack or disrupted their aim.

It felt completely different.

Thud!

Before he could even organize his thoughts, the third wave of arrows was fired.

Eight arrows flew toward him at once.

With the small insight he had just gained, Jang Woo-hyun took a step forward.

Step.

With one step forward, he thrust his sword into the air.

His target was the center of the eight incoming arrows.

He then rotated the sword in place.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

As the balance was disrupted and the force behind the arrows was redirected, they lost momentum and fell to the ground.

It was different from what he had done earlier.

Glancing at the fallen arrows and his sword, Jang Woo-hyun swung his sword a few more times through the air.

The soft sword technique didn’t aim directly at the target but gently redirected the force.

It was different from a fast and straightforward sword technique.

“P-Pass. You’ve passed.”

Stunned by the sight, Cho-su stammered.

In his years as an examiner, having seen countless martial artists take the test, this was the first time he had encountered someone so overwhelming.

It was rare to see someone block the arrows so cleanly.

He even questioned why someone of this caliber had come to the Demon Extermination Sect.

With his skills, he could easily have joined another sect and received better treatment.

Even though he had been told he had passed, Jang Woo-hyun stood still, staring down at his sword.

‘A soft sword.’

It was the complete opposite of the hard style of the Tiger Form Sword.

There were still many other sword techniques, such as the fast sword, phantom sword, and heavy sword.

After watching the Blue Star Sect’s swordsmanship and following along, Jang Woo-hyun had realized something today.

‘Don’t get stuck in one thing.’

He had decided on the direction he wanted to go.

He would learn not just one type of swordsmanship but explore many.

It might be the wrong choice, but it didn’t matter.

Since he had started learning martial arts late, he decided to try everything he wanted.

And instinctively, he felt that this decision was not wrong.

“What’s next?”

As Hwang An, who had been standing there in a daze, asked the question, Jang Woo-hyun sheathed his sword and turned around.

“Ah, yes, the next test is for assessing your attack power. Please follow me.”

As Cho-su walked away, a group of workers appeared at the far end of the open area, carrying and setting something up.

“The next test is simple. You just need to demonstrate your strength by attacking this.”

The examiner pointed to a rectangular pillar, about the height of a person, with a wide base and a wooden rectangular block placed on top.

The wooden pillar appeared to be made of several wooden boards joined vertically.

‘Is this a test to see how much you can cut?’

The wooden boards were of different colors.

It seemed like the test was to see how many boards could be destroyed, thereby determining one’s skill.

“I’ll go first again.”

Gripping his spear tightly, Hwang An stepped forward.

“You’ll be thrusting since you have a spear?”

“Yes.”

At his response, the workers rotated the pillar so that the grain was not visible, making it more difficult to break.

Just as Jang Woo-hyun had guessed, the test seemed to be based on how many layers of wood one could pierce or cut.

Hwang An took his stance, inhaled deeply, and then thrust his spear forward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He made three short, sharp thrusts, testing the pillar’s strength.

Once he had gauged its toughness, he prepared for the real attack.

Drawing his arm back, Hwang An thrust forward swiftly.

Crack!

With the sound of wood breaking, Hwang An’s spearhead pierced the wooden pillar.

When he pulled his spear back, a deep hole was revealed.

Although it didn’t penetrate all the way through, it had created a significant depth.

“Oh… impressive.”

Cho-su admired Hwang An’s performance, clapping softly with a gleam in his eyes.

Pleased with the reaction, Hwang An returned to Jang Woo-hyun’s side.

“How was it?”

Despite Hwang An’s proud expression, Jang Woo-hyun felt something strange.

‘What’s this?’

Though the movements were simple and clean, something felt off.

He couldn’t explain it precisely, but it felt like wearing clothes that didn’t fit.

‘Is he using martial arts meant for a different weapon, not the spear?’

“Jang Hyung, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Putting his thoughts aside, Jang Woo-hyun stepped forward.

Seeing the sword at his waist, the workers rotated the pillar again.

Although he considered hiding his true abilities, Jang Woo-hyun decided against it.

At his current level of skill and martial arts, he couldn’t properly conceal his prowess.

‘It’s still too early for that.’

So he made up his mind to go all out.

As soon as his resolve was set, he drew internal energy from his dantian.

Whoosh.

His aura changed, and sword qi began to rise from his blade.

At the sudden shift in his demeanor, the spectators instinctively stepped back a few paces.

And then, Jang Woo-hyun swung his sword.

From the lower left to the upper right, his sword cut through the wooden pillar in a diagonal slash.

Swish.

The pillar, sliced diagonally, slipped and fell to the ground.

“Huh?”

“Wow…”

“Amazing.”

“…”

The spectators gasped in amazement, while Hwang An and Cho-su, both martial artists, could only stare in astonishment.

They knew how difficult it was to cut through a pillar like that.

When Jang Woo-hyun sheathed his sword, the workers watching couldn’t help but burst into applause.

Normally, they would have quietly observed and only done what the examiner instructed, but they had been so impressed by the overwhelming display of skill that they clapped without thinking.

Jang Woo-hyun bowed slightly in acknowledgment of their applause.

“Huh… I’ve been an examiner for quite a while, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a clean cut.”

Cho-su approached Jang Woo-hyun.

“Both of you have passed the martial arts portion of the test. There will be a final interview, so please wait a moment. The interview is just a formality and won’t take long.”

At Cho-su’s words, the two of them returned to the building where they had first entered and waited.

“Jang Hyung, what kind of person are you?”

As soon as they sat down, Hwang An, who had been full of curiosity, asked.

“What do you mean?”

“To be honest, with your level of skill, there’s no reason for you to come to the Demon Extermination Sect. With that kind of ability, you could receive great treatment even in a mid-tier sect. I’m just curious why you came here. As you know, this place isn’t exactly safe.”

It was a fair question, so Jang Woo-hyun pondered for a moment before deciding to mix some truth with a bit of a lie.

“I lack experience.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

“Just as I said. I’ve mostly trained, so I don’t have much experience. It’s not like I’ve been practicing in a remote cave or a secluded mountain valley, but you could say it’s something similar. You could say I’m practically a newcomer to the martial world.”

At the term “newcomer to the martial world,” Hwang An swallowed hard.

He had been planning to investigate Jang Woo-hyun later, but now Jang Woo-hyun had told him about himself in advance.

Hwang An focused intently on his words.

“That’s why I need real combat experience. In that sense, the Demon Extermination Sect is perfect. I don’t have to get involved in sect conflicts or accumulate unnecessary grudges, but I can gain plenty of combat experience and receive rewards for it.”

“Is that really the only reason?”

At Hwang An’s question, Jang Woo-hyun nodded and spoke.

“I just want to become stronger.”

This was the truth, without any lies, and it resonated with Hwang An.

A simple answer, but also the most fundamental one.

To desire advancement in martial prowess.

Perhaps because Jang Woo-hyun had no powerful sect supporting him, he seemed even more obsessed with becoming stronger.

Unlike those who sought fame, money, or worldly things, Jang Woo-hyun’s sincerity in simply wanting to raise his martial level struck a chord with Hwang An.

Impressed by this, Hwang An felt a genuine desire to grow closer to Jang Woo-hyun.

“You’re a peculiar person, Jang Hyung.”

As the two conversed, Cho-su approached them with another man in tow.

“Warrior Hwang, please follow me, and Warrior Jang, please follow this man.”

“We’re going to different places?”

“Well…”

“That’s only natural.”

Surprisingly, it was Hwang An who spoke first.

“With Jang Hyung’s skills, he deserves special treatment. Of course, they should call him separately. Right, examiner?”

“Haha, I’m grateful that you understand it that way. In any case, please follow that person. Warrior Hwang, let’s go.”

“Sure. See you later, Jang Hyung.”

As Cho-su and Hwang An left first, Jang Woo-hyun followed another person further into the Demon Extermination Sect.

After passing several large and small buildings, they arrived at the destination and entered a large room.

Inside, a massive middle-aged man greeted Jang Woo-hyun.

“Welcome. I am Seo Gyu-sang, an elder of the Demon Extermination Sect.”

An elder of the Demon Extermination Sect.

Jang Woo-hyun had met one of the five elders of the sect on his first day.