Chapter 152: Field Training (2)

A month flew by after the graduation ceremony ended.

The instructors who had taught Baek Cheon and Mak Ho-yeol's cohort were busy conducting exams to select new disciples, while Il-mok's cohort was finally heading out for their first field training.

"Hahaha! Finally, it's starting!"

“Maintain the formation!”

Dokgo Pae was getting way too excited about the field training and trying to charge ahead on his own, while Instructor Eun Ryeo was trying to rein him in.

"Sigh."

Watching Gwak Sul let out a heavy sigh, Il-mok muttered to himself.

“Yep. He doesn’t listen to a single word anyone says.”

It wasn't just Dokgo Pae either. The other classmates were clearly all pumped up about this too.

Unlike them, Il-mok had prepared his own countermeasures for this field training.

He'd spent over a month following the martial units around, getting ready with the bare minimum preparations to deal with his hygiene obsession.

After running along the mountain paths of the Tianshan Mountain Range for what felt like an eternity and following Chu Il-hwan and the other instructors, they spotted a group of people gathered under a banner embroidered with a white bird.

They are the martial unit that was supposed to join them for this field training, the White Sparrow Corps.

The Demonic Cult had sixteen martial units in total, with each unit having forty members.

Factoring in casualties and other vacancies, the number usually hovered around thirty-five. The number of members Il-mok could see right now was thirty-eight.

"I greet the White Sparrow Corps Leader. I am Chu Il-hwan, the Head Instructor of the Hall of the Demonic Way."

"Haha! Welcome, Instructor Chu. I am Gak Won, Leader of the White Sparrow Corps."

While Chu Il-hwan and the Corps Leader exchanged simple greetings, Il-mok quickly scanned the White Sparrow Corps.

About half looked relatively young, while the other half appeared to be at least in their mid-thirties or older.

'The Leader, Vice Leader, and Squad Leaders are probably all from the Hall of the Demonic Way, while the remaining ten or so are likely non-graduates.'

Il-mok recalled an explanation Jin Hayeon had given him in the past.

As the premier institution for cultivating talent in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Hall of the Demonic Way basically gave its graduates a free pass to any department they wanted.

Martial units, the Law Enforcement Hall, the Sacred Order, the Dark Shadow Pavilion, the Hidden Guard Pavilion, and so on.

But it was impossible to run all those organizations with just the Hall’s graduates since they selected only twenty people each year.

The ones who filled this manpower shortage were the non-Hall graduates.

Of course, since they weren't from the Hall, most of them started as warriors in the branch office.

They had to start from the bottom, build up their skills and achievements, and only after turning thirty could they finally be recognized for their contributions and promoted to the martial units or the main headquarters' organizations.

'Since they enter major organizations and agencies way too late, most of them can never climb to the upper ranks.'

For some reason, this system felt depressingly familiar.

'You could say Hall graduates are like those elites who passed the 5th-grade civil service exam, while non-Hall graduates are like those who passed the 9th-grade civil service exam.'

Since their starting point was so low, the highest position non-Hall graduates could reach was at best a Squad Leader in a martial unit.

Going higher than that was nearly impossible due to retirement age constraints.

'Well, in this den of lunatics, there's probably more retirement due to death and mental illness than actual retirement from old age.'

Even if they climbed up, they'd hit a ceiling at just being a regular martial unit member. A tiny few might claw their way up to a Squad Leader level, and you had to deal with the constant threat of death that came with the job.

Anyone looking at it would wonder why the hell someone would want to deal with such an insane promotion system, but surprisingly, many young warriors from the branch offices dreamed of joining a combat division.

As fanatical cultists, they wanted to devote themselves even a little more to the cult.

Though that wasn't all of it.

‘If I remember correctly, once you get into a combat division or a major organization in the main headquarters, you get to live at the main headquarters from then on.'

That’s what Jin Hayeon had said, but Il-mok figured there was one more reason.

If you joined a combat unit or an organization at the main headquarters, you could get your hands on high-tier Demonic Arts.

And once you learned them, you could pass them down to your children and grandchildren.

If your descendants had even a shred of talent, they might have a shot at getting into the Hall of the Demonic Way.

In the context of this cult, it was a massive opportunity for social mobility.

The only problem was that it was a social mobility plan that took several generations to pull off.

‘Hmm. Come to think of it, this is probably why my Master was so quick to adopt the new education system I proposed.’

The current system overwhelmingly favored the children of warriors already at the headquarters since they could learn advanced Demonic Arts from an early age.

They even learned advanced Demonic Arts with severe side effects from childhood, so there was a line of crazy bastards waiting.

You could see it just by looking around.

‘That guy over there. And that one too.’

Il-mok nodded as he glanced over Dokgo Pae, Bang Mi-hwa, and several other fellow disciples.

The cult’s education system was definitely in need of an overhaul.

Separate from Il-mok's intention of reducing mental illness, the Heavenly Demon's goal was to find talented individuals buried in the wilderness.

'Which makes Jin Hayeon a really special case.'

She was a true self-made legend, achieving what took other families generations to accomplish through her own talent and hard work.

'No wonder Ju Seo-yeon praises her so much.'

And that woman was actually Il-mok's own attendant.

‘…Forget hard work. Ultimately, it’s all about who you know, isn’t it?’

Il-mok thought this way, forgetting the fact that he'd done it himself and just attributing it all to his master, the Heavenly Demon.

***

Meanwhile, just as Il-mok was observing the White Sparrow Corps members, the White Sparrow Corps members were also observing Il-mok.

'So that disciple is the famous Eighth Young Master we've only heard about!'

For the past two years, the name mentioned most often in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult after the Heavenly Demon was none other than Eighth Young Master Il-mok.

Even though Il-mok's portrait hadn't been distributed throughout the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the White Sparrow Corps members could instantly identify Il-mok for a simple reason.

'How can a mere student have an aura like that!?'

‘Incredible… I can’t even begin to read his depth…’

He had reached a realm that couldn't be compared to other disciples.

Several unit members were shocked to realize that Il-mok, who was only seventeen and still just a student, was already superior to them in martial arts.

The shock was especially great for the young White Sparrow Corps members who were Hall graduates.

"Hehehe."

In contrast, the older, non-Hall warriors who had joined the White Sparrow Corps after going through all sorts of hardships were wearing wry smiles.

Part of it was the mental fortitude that came with age and experience. The other part was that they’d already had this exact shock when they first joined.

They’d been stunned to find that fresh-faced kids, fifteen years their junior, were already their equals or even better than them.

"They say there's always another sky beyond sky...."

And now, looking at those same prodigies who had once awed them gaping in shock at Eighth Young Master was truly satisfying to watch.

“It really makes you believe in a sky beyond sky.”

***

While the cadets and the division members were busy assessing each other, the Leader finished his greetings and addressed the combined group.

"Our White Sparrow Corps's mission this time is to wipe out the bandits who've been running wild recently on the route from Hami to Turpan. They're all martial artists, and since they appeared suddenly, we suspect they are from an Unorthodox Faction’s sect from the Central Plains. For the safety of the people, our goal is to eliminate every single one of them without exception, so keep that in mind."

"Yessir!" the corps members responded with a disciplined salute.

“The common folk are suffering at the hands of these villains as we speak. We have no time to waste. Let us depart at once!”

The moment the order was given, the journey began. Some mounted horses, while others simply began to run.

‘So that’s why it looked like they were short on horses!’

A dry, humorless laugh escaped from Il-mok’s lips as he kicked the ground and deployed his lightness skill.

During the time he prepared for the Demonic Way’s exam, Il-mok had experience running around the Xinjiang region several times under the guise of "lightness technique training."

But this case was different.

Turpan was much farther than Aksu where Il-mok had been before.

It was a distance that would take a good four or five days even on horseback. It was farther than going from Seoul to Busan.

'These crazy bastards!!'

After running while cursing the White Sparrow Corps for a while...

The shameless White Sparrow Corps Leader who had been comfortably riding his horse at the front raised his hand.

"Stop! We will rest here briefly to regulate our internal energy before continuing.”

Following his instructions, those who had been using lightness skills immediately sat cross-legged and began regulating their breathing and internal energy while those who had ridden horses led them around to let them graze.

They fed the horses water and fodder they'd brought themselves, but mostly let them eat grass growing on the ground.

After a short break, the riders and runners swapped places and we set off again.

This time, Il-mok was riding a horse relatively comfortably and soon understood why there were only half as many horses and why they had stopped to rest earlier.

'Most of Xinjiang was wasteland...'

They weren't using roads where horses could travel somewhat comfortably.

Once they left the grasslands, there was hardly anything for the horses to eat.

They took breaks frequently, and once they entered the wasteland, they fed the horses fodder and water they'd brought in advance.

After a full day of riding or running, they spent the night in some nameless grassland.

"We'll depart at dawn tomorrow, so have a simple meal and get some sleep! The night watch schedule will be communicated through each Squad Leader and the Hall instructors!"

But just as Il-mok was sighing in relief that the insane marathon was finally over, he noticed the gazes of the White Sparrow’s members.

"The rumors about the Eighth Young Master don't seem to be false after all."

"Compared to the other disciples, he definitely looks more relaxed. Brother Jang."

Unlike the other disciples who looked ready to collapse from exhaustion, the White Sparrow Corps members who looked somewhat relaxed all had their eyes fixed on Il-mok.

A few of them weren't just looking; they seemed to be working up the courage to use this opportunity to talk with him.

"Since we've met like this through fate, wouldn't it be nice to exchange greetings?"

Several unit members who had been keeping an eye on the Eighth Young Master approached him but then stopped in their tracks.

Suddenly, the Eighth Young Master closed his eyes and showed signs of concentration, then energy waves began flowing out from him.

The White Sparrow Corps members who felt that energy all showed surprised expressions.

'He really is the Eighth Young Master!'

‘Even after a full day of riding and running, he’s training his martial arts before he sleeps! Such dedication!’

Everyone was wearing expressions of admiration for Il-mok's enthusiasm for a moment.

Then, a few of the more spiritually sensitive members tilted their heads, a flicker of confusion in their eyes as they realized something was off.

“…No matter how I look at it, that doesn’t seem like he’s cultivating internal energy. Is he… casting a spell?”