Chapter 10

Just inside the main gate of the Heavenly Martial Academy was the long training ground where the entrance exams had been held.

Outside the inner gate, there were only two buildings: White Rock Hall, where applicants registered, and Black Rock Hall, which had been used as the waiting area.

Up to this point, outsiders visiting the academy could enter freely.

I had wondered what Baek Woong-daeju meant when he said that if you wanted to fight, you had to either do it inside the academy or outside the city.

After staying in Luoyang for a few days, I learned that even if martial artists argued at an inn, they settled it by sparring in those training grounds.

Beyond the inner gate, which couldn’t be seen from outside, was a restricted area.

Only instructors, teachers, students, and workers were allowed inside.

Public events like the Heavenly Martial Tournament and the Martial Star Festival were all held in the outer training grounds, so even the merchants of Luoyang knew nothing about what happened inside.

“So you’re heading straight back to the Ice Palace?”

“Yes.”

“Travel safely!”

“You too, Miss… um… stay healthy.”

“I don’t know if I’ll have time to return during vacation. I’ll send you letters.”

After saying goodbye to Baek Woong-daeju in front of the academy, I exchanged my admission token for a name tag at White Rock Hall.

Unlike the beautifully made admission token that could even be used as decoration, the name tag was just a small wooden plaque with my name carved into it.

“Welcome to the academy!”

The senior student I had met before grinned and opened the inner gate.

“Wow!”

A vast complex of buildings stretched out before me as far as the eye could see.

Flags bearing the names of each hall fluttered in the wind.

Every building had its own large training ground, with plenty of space between them.

How enormous is this place?

Since the academy had been built into the mountains, many buildings were arranged in tiers along the mountainside.

Do we really have to walk all the way up there?

It reminded me of college, when I accidentally signed up for classes on top of a hill and had to sprint uphill during every break.

Of course, I could now use lightness skills, so traveling would be much faster.

Still, the academy itself was much larger, so I’d have to be careful.

“Aren’t the senior students entering today as well?”

I found it strange that only the few guides from White Rock Hall were present.

“Oh, no! The current students will return in ten days.”

The senior who was about to close the gate answered after hearing my question.

I was about to thank him.

Instead, he smiled mysteriously and gently pushed us inside.

Leaving the seniors behind, all the new students followed the main road deeper into the academy.

…

My jaw dropped.

In an open space as large as a banquet hall stood three enormous dining tables.

They were covered with every imaginable delicacy.

It looked like the entrance ceremony would be held outdoors while everyone ate together.

“Ah! Tangerines… And strawberries too!”

There were dishes I recognized and many I didn’t.

But my attention was completely captured by the fresh fruit I’d been searching for ever since arriving in the Central Plains.

“Su-ryeo, do you like fruit?”

Maeng Ryeong-ji, who had arrived earlier and saved me a seat, rested a hand on my shoulder.

We had met several times before the ceremony, so I gladly sat beside her.

“Yeah… I do. It was hard to get fresh fruit in the North Sea.”

I hadn’t especially liked fruit in my previous life.

But compared to now, I definitely did.

“Really? Then come visit the Beast Palace someday. I’ll treat you to as much as you want!”

They had prepared all this food just for the new students.

How thoughtful.

I had secretly worried the academy might be like those ruthless martial schools in novels, where they’d make us do horse stance training the moment we arrived.

But seeing all the food instantly relaxed me.

“Eat as much as you like. The chefs worked very hard to prepare this feast for all of you.”

Some of the instructors I had seen during the entrance exams wandered around encouraging everyone to eat.

Paeng Jung-geol was there, along with the instructor who had judged Eun-hyeon’s matches.

They seemed to be in charge of the new students.

“Thank you for the meal!”

I started with fruit to refresh my palate before trying every dish within reach.

It seemed they had prepared food from all over the Central Plains.

Some dishes were incredibly spicy.

Others had such strange bitter flavors that I couldn’t even describe them.

Unlike me, Maeng Ryeong-ji stubbornly ate nothing but roast duck.

“Miss Seol!”

I also met So-un there.

When I asked if everything had gone well at Black Rock Hall, he said that Neunggwang Sword, whom we’d met at the Yu Estate, had arrived three days later to confirm his identity.

After that, there were no problems.

Since they had even offered to let him stay there until the entrance ceremony, he’d accepted to save money.

“Um… the person beside you is…”

So-un looked a little startled by Maeng Ryeong-ji’s appearance.

“Oh, she’s a new friend. Her name is Maeng Ryeong-ji, and she’s my age. This is So-un. We met on the way here.”

“Where are you from?”

“Um… the Yu Estate… But I didn’t actually learn their martial arts…”

“The Yu Estate?”

“Eek!”

The moment So-un mentioned a clan Maeng Ryeong-ji had never heard of, her expression immediately relaxed.

“So you’re not one of those Nine Great Sects people! Good! I’m Maeng Ryeong-ji of the Beast Palace!”

She heartily slapped So-un on the back.

She might dislike the Nine Great Sects…

But honestly, nobody cared more about people’s affiliations than she did.

Before even one quarter of an hour had passed, every seat was filled.

“Can I sit here? Is this seat taken?”

“Ah, sure.”

“Where are you from? I’m from Xi’an. Luoyang feels much busier.”

Some students introduced themselves and became friends.

Others, who were shy, awkwardly picked at their food.

“Miss, please wait. Let me wipe your chair first.”

Miss?

They’re classmates. Why is he acting like a servant?

So-un also called me “Miss,” but that had happened naturally.

These people gave off a completely different feeling.

Many of the students with recommendation tokens already seemed to know each other.

Three students dressed in matching blue robes stood out even more.

Although I hadn’t planned it that way, most of the students I’d seen during the entrance exam gradually gathered around where Maeng Ryeong-ji and I were sitting.

Meanwhile, the other two tables naturally filled with students connected to either the Nine Great Sects or the Five Great Families.

The groups separated themselves quite openly.

There were twelve students admitted through the entrance exam, including Eun-hyeon… That means there are a little over forty others?

I kept glancing toward the instructors, wondering when they’d finally speak.

Instead, they simply encouraged everyone to eat first, saying the Headmaster had deliberately arranged time for the new students to relax.

When more than half the food had disappeared…

“Hehehe. It seems another year has brought us many talented young martial artists.”

An old monk wearing magnificent robes appeared.

When did he get there?

I was startled.

I hadn’t sensed his presence at all before he spoke.

But the moment I became aware of him, it felt as though the air itself had grown heavier.

“Gasp!”

“It’s Headmaster Seongak!”

Someone shouted.

Then I remembered that the Headmaster of the Heavenly Martial Academy was the Shaolin monk, Great Master Seongak.

The great hero of the war against the Demonic Cult.

As soon as the Demonic Cult began its invasion, he had led Shaolin’s monks to establish the front lines.

After the war, he had spent his own fortune to build this academy and train the next generation.

Even his clothing wasn’t ordinary monk’s robes.

They were indeed Buddhist robes, but thick golden threads were embroidered throughout them, making them look extraordinarily luxurious.

It wasn’t the image I had imagined.

But there was no doubt he was an extraordinary person.

The lively atmosphere changed in an instant.

“Hehehe. While you’re students here, I’d rather you call me Headmaster than Great Master.”

“Yes, Headmaster!”

The students answered loudly.

Although he smiled kindly, everyone stared at the legendary hero with excitement and nervousness.

“Have you all eaten well?”

“Yes!”

“If anyone hasn’t eaten, step forward and confess now.”

Perhaps sensing everyone’s tension, Headmaster Seongak made a joke.

Naturally, nobody raised a hand.

A few students laughed, and the atmosphere relaxed.

Still smiling warmly, Headmaster Seongak walked between the banquet tables.

For a moment, I thought he bent down and looked closely at my face.

It was probably just my imagination.

Since the friend sitting beside me had nearly caused trouble before enrollment, I was probably just being self-conscious.

Standing in the middle of the cheerful banquet, he smiled brightly.

“I’ve mixed Dissipating Qi Poison into your food.”

…?

He had just greeted us.

He had just asked if we’d eaten well.

Surely he was supposed to tell us to train hard after enjoying the meal.

For a moment, I wondered if I’d misheard because I was nervous.

Dissipating Qi Poison was a poison that scattered a person’s internal energy.

I knew what it was.

But why was he suddenly talking about it?

The food hadn’t tasted strange at all.

Was he really saying the delicious meal we’d just eaten had been poisoned?

“Cough!”

Someone suddenly vomited blood.

I guessed every student except me had tried circulating their internal energy.

As long as their internal energy remained settled in their dantian, they hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

But the moment they tried drawing it out, it mysteriously scattered.

The student who had just coughed up blood had probably forced all his internal energy out at once, disrupting the flow of qi that sustained his body.

“Haha. Let this be your first lesson. If you want to survive in the Heavenly Martial Academy… no, in the harsh martial world… never carelessly eat food offered by others.”

The great hero of the righteous martial world is saying something like that?

After personally serving us this feast?

“But the Heavenly Martial Academy is kind enough to give careless students like you a chance.”

Still smiling, he walked past the student who had collapsed.

“Now then, everyone, turn over the name tags you received earlier.”

He pointed at the wooden name tags hanging from our waists.

The ones we had received after exchanging our admission tokens at White Rock Hall.

“If you wet the back with water, writing will appear. The antidote is written there.”

“…!”

“The Medicine Sage prepared it carefully for today’s entrance ceremony. Hehehe. Even if you can’t find the antidote, don’t worry too much. The poison will naturally leave your body in at most a month.”

…The Heavenly Martial Academy didn’t just hand out spiritual medicines.

Both Dissipating Qi Poison, which could disable martial artists, and its antidote were incredibly difficult to produce.

Yet they had gone this far just for an initiation ceremony.

“Still, I recommend finding the antidote. It may be difficult walking to and from the dormitories without internal energy.”

Headmaster Seongak pointed toward the middle of the mountain.

Several flags fluttered there.

Don’t tell me that’s the dormitory?

To martial artists with internal energy, it probably wasn’t much of a climb.

But remembering my previous life, it would’ve taken me two or three exhausting hours just to reach the top.

“This… this can’t be…”

“My internal energy is really scattering!”

“What is this?!”