Chapter 85: The Greatest Prodigy of the Demonic Way (4)

Gwak Sul, who had momentarily tried to escape reality, finally gathered his wits and asked, "Then, how will you prepare for the fight against the instructor, Team Leader?"

"Prepare? What is there to prepare? After getting enough rest, I'll aim for a head-on battle!"

Gwak Sul's fist twitched involuntarily, but he couldn't bring himself to swing his weapon.

It was obvious they would lose. This was the problem with being smart—you couldn't attempt something crazy because you knew better.

Still, with his experience from the previous test, Gwak Sul decided to try coaxing and persuading Dokgo Pae.

"Team Leader, if this test were like the previous martial arts competition, you'd be right. But this test is an integrated evaluation of all our training. Tracking, concealment, traps, and the like are all part of the test."

"Disciple Gwak is right, Team Leader. Even if you aim for a direct confrontation, there's no guarantee the instructor will accept it, is there?"

Choi Woong chimed in, supporting Gwak Sul.

He too, being a 'somewhat' normal person, instinctively realized that their grades would plummet if they continued this way.

"Especially if we don't prepare traps or countermeasures in advance, there's a risk that other teams might interfere while we're fighting the instructor."

With Gwak Sul's final addition, Dokgo Pae, who had been negative until now, finally nodded.

"Indeed. The Young Master might pull something like that."

Dokgo Pae recalled the ambush during a meal in the previous test.

"In that case, you two start preparing the traps. You both seem to have a knack for it."

Hearing Dokgo Pae's instruction, Gwak Sul and Choi Woong, who had advocated for setting traps, exchanged a look.

'...You've been through a lot.'

'That's how it turned out....'

Misery loves company, they say.

They understood each other's feelings with just a look.

***

Around the time when Choi Woong and Gwak Sul were hurriedly preparing traps, Team Two which included Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young had also stopped moving and mapping out their plans.

"I think it's best for everyone to scatter and hide as much as possible from now on."

Bang Mi-hwa said haughtily, fluttering her fan open.

“Hmm. Wouldn’t sticking together at least give us a chance to snatch the bell if we encounter Instructor Chu Il-hwan?”

When a squad member raised this objection, Bang Mi-hwa raised her chin and replied.

"Hmph. How foolish."

"!?"

“Even I, whose talent the Hall Master recognized and keeps an eye on, cannot yet gauge Instructor Chu’s full strength. It goes without saying that the instructor can’t kill us, but that also means that someone like Instructor Chu wouldn’t be choosy about his methods. He will hunt us down one by one using hit-and-run tactics and tracking skills."

Having painted Chu Il-hwan as a villain before he did anything, she continued confidently.

"In any case, the evaluation criterion for this test is how long we can survive. There was no condition that team members must stay together. If we scatter and at least one person survives while the other teams are being taken down by Instructor Chu Il-hwan, that means victory for us."

Her team members stared at her with blank eyes at her logic.

They weren't shocked by her reasoning.

They instinctively realized that she wasn't someone they could reason with.

Except for one person.

"As expected of Mi-hwa!"

Ha Young, Bang Mi-hwa's best friend, was praising her with an admiring expression. They were truly a well-matched pair.

With the gaze of her friend who was singing her praises and the other three squad members who were staring blankly, Bang Mi-hwa's pride swelled even more.

'Hmph. I intended to bring the Young Master to his knees this time, but with the test like this, it can’t be helped. Well, as long as I’m the last one surviving, it’ll be my victory anyway.'

Confident in her victory, she said, "Well then, let's start moving. Hide and erase your traces as much as possible."

At her instruction, the three team members who couldn't even voice their opinions inwardly sighed and began to scatter.

And Instructor Eun Ryeo, who had been watching them from beyond the bushes, also let out a faint sigh.

It wasn't because Bang Mi-hwa's plan was foolish.

The tests at the Hall of the Demonic Way were designed to present situations similar to real combat, allowing observers to see how the disciples navigated through them.

In that sense, dispersing for survival was certainly a valid approach.

This is especially true in cases where information that absolutely had to be reported to the Cult was obtained during a mission. Situations where they would scatter to ensure at least one person survived and returned could certainly arise.

The problem was a lack of manpower.

After letting out a faint sigh, Instructor Eun Ryeo gave instructions to a nearby teaching assistant using hand signals and they each began to chase after one person.

That meant the other three were now beyond the reach of surveillance.

***

Around the time when the squad with Il-mok had subdued Team Three, and the other two squads had each established their own strategies...

"Hmm."

Chu Il-hwan, confirming that the hourglass he had set had run out, stretched lightly and started moving.

'Does Disciple Il-mok's team go in this direction....'

Chu Ilhwan, who had unknowingly thought about chasing after Il-mok, soon changed his mind.  It was an exam, after all, so there was a need to proceed with some degree of fairness.

Examining the traces left by the four teams, Chu Il-hwan began following the one that had left the most noticeable trail.

A series of metallic sounds rang out around Chu Il-hwan as he moved swiftly, following the trail.

It was the sound coming from the bell attached to his belt.

The disciples being pursued could run away upon hearing this sound, but Chu Il-hwan didn't mind.

After all, the bell was placed there for that very purpose, and he knew there was still quite a distance between him and those he was pursuing.

He knew this from the traces they had left behind.

Chu Il-hwan, who had been moving at full speed, began to slow down at some point.

'These traces aren't that old.'

Realizing he was getting closer to his targets, Chu Il-hwan started moving slowly to prevent the bell from ringing, continuing to follow the trail.

After moving stealthily for a while...

Smirk.

The corner of Chu Il-hwan's mouth curved upward.

'Interesting. Let's play along, shall we?'

Quickly composing his expression, Chu Il-hwan continued to follow the trail with a feigned oblivious look and—

Thud.

At some point, he felt an odd sensation from the ground beneath his feet.

Snap!

Simultaneously, tree vines twisted as if to bind his legs.

Swish!

Sharply honed tree branches poured down from the air in succession.

But as Chu Il-hwan lightly swung his right hand, the black lightning that spewed from his hand burned the branches in an instant.

And the moment Chu Il-hwan executed his technique—

Pat!

"Die!!"

"Now's our chance!!"

"Hyah!"

Disciples sprang out from all directions at once, unleashing their techniques at Chu Il-hwan.

However, their moves merely cut through empty air.

"Don't you think it's a bit harsh to tell your instructor to die?"

Chu Il-hwan, who had swiftly leaped into the air with superior lightness skills, chuckled playfully as he brought his hands together.

Crackle!

As the black lightning from both hands crossed each other, it expanded with a booming sound.

"Haah!"

With a shout, a massive surge of black lightning shot toward the disciples from his outstretched hands.

"Dodge!"

"Damn it!!"

But given the scale of the technique, the disciples could easily leap in various directions to avoid the strike.

No, it was Chu Il-hwan who had deliberately used such a technique for them to dodge.

After all, he couldn't kill the disciples during the test.

Thud.

Landing on the ground, Chu Il-hwan immediately leaped toward one of the disciples who had scattered in all directions to avoid his previous technique.

"Haah!"

Faced with Chu Il-hwan's rapidly closing distance, Ju Seo-yeon thrust her spear.

Her spear, which emphasized the principle of illusion, showed bizarre trajectories and created phantoms.

Grasp.

Chu Il-hwan immediately identified the real one and grabbed the side of the spear with his right hand.

Crackle!

The black lightning emanating from Chu Il-hwan's right hand traveled along the spear and burrowed into Ju Seo-yeon's body.

"Kyeeeeek!"

While she was screaming strangely as the electric shock paralyzed her, Chu Il-hwan quickly seized her pressure point and flung his body sideways with her slung over his shoulder.

As she let out a pained scream from the electric shock, Chu Il-hwan quickly pressed her pressure point, slung her over his shoulder, and leaped to the side.

BOOM!!!

Right after, an explosion erupted from where Chu Il-hwan and Ju Seo-yeon had been.

"Disciple Dokgo, are you trying to kill your fellow disciple?"

It was the carnage Dokgo Pae had created.

"Minor casualties are bound to occur in the process of capturing an enemy commander, Instructor!"

As he was putting down the subdued Ju Seo-yeon, Chu Il-hwan involuntarily winced at Dokgo Pae's nonsense.

"You have a point, but this is a test, not actual combat.”

"Didn't you tell us to treat it like a real situation?"

"......."

Should I kill him?

The thought momentarily crossed Chu Il-hwan's mind, but he easily suppressed the murderous impulse.

Because a more amusing prank had come to mind.

"Come at me."

"That's what I was thinking!"

Provoked by Chu Il-hwan, Dokgo Pae charged like a wild boar.

Chu Il-hwan, employing dazzling footwork, easily evaded Dokgo Pae’s attacks. Furthermore, Chu Il-hwan subtly moved towards the other disciples.

As a result...

"W-wait a moment!"

"Team Leader, stop!!"

Dokgo Pae's sword, failing to hit Chu Il-hwan, ended up flying towards his own team members.

“Grr! Get out of the way!”

Dokgo Pae shouted as if his teammates were merely obstacles, relentlessly unleashing his offense-focused Dokgo's Nine Swords without pause.

And due to Dokgo Pae's crude swordsmanship, the other team members couldn't even properly execute their martial techniques and were desperately trying to dodge.

As for Chu Il-hwan...

Thud.

"One more down."

He simply subdued the disciples whose stances had been compromised by Dokgo Pae.

Eventually, it wasn't long before all of the disciples except Dokgo Pae were subdued.

"Isn't this too underhanded?!"

When Dokgo Pae let out an enraged shout, Chu Il-hwan responded with a sly smile.

"Didn't you say you'd treat it like a real situation? If you say such things in a real battle, you'd be treated as a fool, Disciple Dokgo."

In response to Chu Il-hwan's playful provocation, Dokgo Pae’s expression turned resolute instead.

"It's better this way! Now that I’m the only one left, I’ll face you fair and square, Instructor!”

"Alright. Come and try again."

Chu Il-hwan, deciding to end the prank there and showed a rare serious expression. Dokgo Pae unleashed his Dokgo’s Nine Swords, pressing against Chu Il-hwan.

Clang!

Clang!!

Metallic sounds echoed as Chu Il-hwan's hands, wrapped in black lightning, repeatedly clashed with Dokgo Pae's great sword.

Dokgo Pae's great sword, wrapped in Sword Qi, did not shake easily even after clashing with the black lightning, and Dokgo Pae endured the lightning qi and continued to maintain his offensive.

'Oh. He has certainly improved quite a bit in the past two months. Is it because he has set Young Master Il-mok as his target? Or is it due to the Hall Master’s special training? Maybe it’s both.’

He indulged Dokgo Pae for a while, meeting all of his attacks.

As he played along with Dokgo Pae's endless offensive, the urge to kill began to rise again.

'I should end this now.'

Realizing that dragging it out further might turn a precious cadet into a charred lump, Chu Il-hwan’s demeanor changed. His once playful eyes turned serious.

As he struck down Dokgo Pae’s technique with his right palm…

Thud!

He closed the distance with greater speed than before and instantly struck Dokgo Pae’s abdomen with his left palm.

"Kuk..."

As Dokgo Pae collapsed, gripped by the lightning qi penetrating his abdomen, Chu Il-hwan, now with a smiling face again, pressed Dokgo Pae's pressure point.

***

After handing over the subdued disciples to the instructor in charge of Team One, Chu Il-hwan set out on a journey to find the other squads.

"Hmm?"

In the process, he came across a small trace.

A trace too small for five people traveling together.

'Hehehe. This batch is definitely interesting.'

Chu Il-hwan was pleased with the different approaches taken by each team.

But fun was fun, and a test was a test.

Chu Il-hwan pursued that trace and was able to easily find a member of Team Two who was acting alone.

"It's fun, but finding the remaining four will definitely be cumbersome."

After muttering his impression, Chu Il-hwan moved on to find new traces.

After wandering the mountain for a while, Chu Il-hwan began to move cautiously to hide the bell sound, and—

Heh.

Chu Il-hwan's mouth curved up to his ears as his eyes met with a new target.

And the target who met eyes with Chu Il-hwan—

"Damn it."

—Was Il-mok, whose face crumpled immediately.