Mun Gi’s fist burst out like it was exploding in midair.
But Hwang Jinhyeok was already gone from there.
Where to?
When I turned my gaze, I saw Hwang Jinhyeok skimming in low along the floor, closing in like he was just brushing past it.
It was too late to dodge.
Mun Gi crossed both hands to block and, at the same time, sprang backward.
CRUNCH—.
“Kkhk!”
Even though he’d blocked, it felt like his arms were about to be torn off from the pain.
When he retreated, his skin peeled away along with his clothes.
On Hwang Jinhyeok’s nails, there were scraps of Mun Gi’s clothes and bits of flesh.
CRACK—.
Hwang Jinhyeok curled his fingers—then vanished in an instant.
A chill crawled up Mun Gi’s spine, and he shouted.
“I-I yield!”
The moment he shouted, he saw it—Hwang Jinhyeok’s nails, stopped right in front of his nose.
“Huff, huff!”
He was this strong?
There was no contest.
A monster like this needed the Cloud Ladders’ help?
It didn’t make sense.
Even if you left him alone, he’d climb on his own—an absurd master.
Hwang Jinhyeok withdrew his hand, then pulled something out from his chest and held it out.
“My wound... I’m sorry. This is top-grade hemostatic powder. Put it on.”
Mun Gi took the hemostatic powder without thinking.
“Thank you for today.”
Mun Gi snorted a laugh at Hwang Jinhyeok, who spoke with a smile, and returned a fist-and-palm salute.
“No. Thanks to you, I learned a thing.”
As they exchanged greetings, the Ascension Officer’s voice rang out.
“Hwang Jinhyeok, victory! Promoted to Rank Six! Mun Gi, defeat! Demoted to Rank Seven!”
Mun Gi said to Hwang Jinhyeok.
“How far are you going to climb?”
“For now, Rank Three. You coming?”
“This time, I’m going to be the challenger.”
At Mun Gi’s words, Hwang Jinhyeok grinned.
“Anytime. I’ll be waiting.”
“Well done.”
Hwang Jinhyeok finished his promotion to Rank Six with ease.
And not against just anyone—he earned it against a real Cloud Ladder with real skill.
“I still can’t believe it. That I’ve gotten this strong.”
“If you go into the Abyssal Star Refining Purgatory and train, you’ll get even stronger.”
“I’m scared. The rumor is that place is real hell.”
“It’s where they raise the future of Heavenly Martial Castle. You really think they’d build a gate you can’t overcome?”
“Right? Okay. I’ll clear it with the best results.”
“When you clear the Abyssal Star Refining Purgatory, you automatically go up one grade, so do well.”
“Yeah. Got it. And you’re going to the Seven-Star Ascension Tower now?”
“Yeah.”
The Cloud Ladders problem wasn’t something I needed to solve.
All they had to do was make promotions happen only through the Seven-Star Ascension Tower.
Some Cloud Ladders had fallen, sure—but once everything returned to normal, wouldn’t they return to normal too?
And if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to endure.
The reason I was going to the Seven-Star Ascension Tower wasn’t just curiosity.
There were Ascension Officers there who refused corruption.
They’d been shoved into managing the Seven-Star Ascension Tower—because everyone avoided it.
How did the symbol of Martial Star Hall become an unwanted burden?
Far off, I could see the Seven-Star Ascension Tower.
A single massive tower, standing alone and lonely at the edge of a cliff.
From the floor to the very top, it had been built seven hundred feet tall to symbolize the Seven Stars.
The roofs on each floor were seven-sided, and cloud dragons carved in jade coiled up the tower, then reared in a great twisting surge above the summit.
Around the tower, a Cloud-Sea Formation had been spread so that no one could approach casually—so from a distance, it created the illusion that the tower was floating over a lake of fog.
As I drew nearer, the Ascension Officers there, their expressions dark, stared at me with startled faces.
“Who are you?”
The question itself was ridiculous.
“I came to take the Seven-Star Ascension Tower trial.”
“What?”
Two Ascension Officers at the entrance stared at me like they couldn’t believe it.
“There’s an easier way than this. Why would you pick the hard one?”
“Because I’m curious. The Seven-Star Ascension Tower is Martial Star Hall’s symbol, isn’t it?”
Martial Star Hall’s symbol.
It had been a long time since I’d heard that.
“Yeah... the Seven-Star Ascension Tower was Martial Star Hall’s symbol.”
“It’s the symbol, and Martial Star Hall’s pride. So of course choosing this is the right thing.”
The guarded look on the Ascension Officers’ faces eased.
“So you came to take the Seven-Star Ascension Tower trial?”
“Yes.”
“Good! Go on in.”
“There’s a formation laid out.”
“It’s a basic one. Passing that first is what gives you the qualification to challenge the Seven-Star Ascension Tower.”
“Was there originally a formation?”
“There wasn’t. The Strategist said the Seven-Star Ascension Tower is Martial Star Hall’s pride, so it had to be harder—so he rebuilt the structure.”
“When was that?”
“Not that long ago. About a year?”
“Then most people probably turned back when they saw that formation.”
“Right. There’s the Seven-Star Ascension Method, which is easier than the tower—why would anyone challenge the hard one?”
“I think the Seven-Star Ascension Method needs to disappear.”
“You think so too?”
“Yes. It’s hurting not just Martial Star Hall, but Heavenly Martial Castle too.”
“Oh! You really see things clearly. Yeah.”
“It’s because I care about Heavenly Martial Castle. If this keeps going, Heavenly Martial Castle could turn into a sandcastle.”
“We think so too. So we petitioned the higher-ups, but they won’t listen.”
“They said the Strategist worked hard to create this method, so opposing it isn’t good—and everything got rejected.”
I understood.
If the Strategist worked hard to create it, it wouldn’t be easy to oppose it.
I wanted to meet him and ask directly.
Why did he make something like this?
If he was a strategist, he would’ve known this method had a fatal flaw.
One thing was certain.
The reason Martial Star Hall had become like this was because of the new method the Strategist pushed through.
And there had to be a reason he wanted to kill the Seven-Star Ascension Tower.
Breaking people’s will to challenge it by making even the entrance viciously difficult—that was proof.
What was it?
What was he doing this for?
To find out, I had to experience everything myself first.
All of a sudden, I laughed.
When you think about it, I only stopped by to see my grandfather on my way to the capital to take the metropolitan exam.
And somehow, I was solving Heavenly Martial Castle’s problems.
Fine.
As for the Ascension Officers here, once Martial Star Hall starts doing its job again, it’ll be enough to tell my grandfather about their efforts—he’ll reward them plenty.
I didn’t need to step in and make their hearts turn toward me.
True Martial Sect did need talent, sure—but I didn’t want to siphon off my grandfather’s wealth.
This was simply me helping my grandfather as his grandson.
“Then may I go in?”
“Go in. I pray for your good fortune.”
“Thank you.”
I stepped into the Cloud-Dragon Formation.
The formation was nothing special.
The Cloud-Sea Formation just used dense fog to numb your sense of direction and make you wander the same place over and over.
Getting out wasn’t difficult.
Close your eyes and use every sense except sight.
Then you can feel the flow of the formation.
Even someone dull would feel it if they just stood there for a while.
But if you didn’t know formations, you’d see this thick fog, get scared, and run.
I didn’t even need to close my eyes.
In an instant, I passed through the formation and arrived at the main gate of the Seven-Star Ascension Tower.
Above the enormous gate hung four characters cast in bronze: SEVEN-STAR ASCENSION.
When I opened the gate and stepped inside, the Ascension Officer stationed there stared at me, stunned.
How long had it been since anyone came, for everyone who saw me to react like this?
“W-Welcome.”
He greeted me with a face mixed with surprise and delight.
“I’ll explain how to challenge the Ascension Tower.”
“Don’t I just pass the test and go up?”
“R-right.”
“I’ll start right away.”
“Got it. Then I’ll explain briefly.”
I nodded.
“As the name says, it’s made of seven floors. Each time you clear a floor, you’re promoted. The higher you go, the harsher the test will be.”
“What kind of test is it?”
“I can’t tell you that. If I can tell you one thing, it’s this—each floor is packed with formations and mechanism array-work, so it won’t be an easy challenge.”
“I’m busy.”
“Understood. Go through that door. If you want to give up, shout ‘I give up the challenge’ loudly. Then I’ll stop the mechanisms immediately.”
Mechanism array-work.
My heart thumped.
Why wouldn’t anyone do something this fun?
When I made a face full of anticipation, the Ascension Officer smiled.
“I pray for your good fortune. The first floor isn’t that hard, so don’t be too tense.”
“Understood. Then I’ll be back.”
I saluted and stepped into the Seven-Star Ascension Tower.
CREEEAK— THUD—.
The heavy door shut, and a massive chamber studded with night-luminescent pearls came into view.
I immediately grasped the formation laid here.
It was an Illusion Sparring Formation.
The bronze mirrors installed on all sides and the white jade stone laid into the floor were devices that made the illusions sharper and more realistic.
The martial aura engraved into the formation would be tuned to match the first floor’s difficulty.
So how does it start?
Do I just go in?
As I slowly looked around and stepped farther inside, I heard the sound of mechanisms moving.
GRRRRNNG—.
That mechanism was probably what made the weapons swung by the illusions strike like real attacks.
Let’s see how well they built it.
The moment I thought that, the scenery shifted—and a man stood there with his sword drawn.
Well made.
It felt completely real.
Then a voice sounded.
—The trial will begin.
At the same time, the man moved slowly, then charged straight at me.
I was curious how strong the man in the illusion was, so I decided to face him first without immediately countering.
WHOOSH— WHOOSH-WHOOSH—.
Each time the man’s sword moved, the mechanism-driven blade whipped in fast.
After trading a few exchanges, it was obvious—the Ascension Tower was definitely harder.
Still, it wasn’t so hard I couldn’t handle it.
If someone whined over something like this, they had no qualification to be a martial artist of Heavenly Martial Castle.
CRACK—.
THUD—.
Once I’d measured his strength, I subdued him in one breath. The illusion vanished, and a door opened.
—Congratulations. You have been promoted to Rank Six. Will you challenge the next grade?
Of course.
Thinking it was fun, I went up to the next floor.
As I did, I also thought about what needed to be improved.
First, the formation outside the tower had to go.
It was the most pointless thing.
The first floor didn’t seem like it needed reinforcement.
It was about right.
If I had to point out a flaw, it was that the movements were a little too simple.
I thought it would be fine to raise the power a bit more, but that was only by my standards, so I figured leaving it alone was fine.
When I stepped onto this floor, two illusions appeared.
What?
Don’t tell °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° me—does it increase by one person per floor?
The moment I thought that, I noticed it had only one leg.
One leg, two upper bodies.
One held a three-section staff, and the other held a flexible sword that fluttered as it moved.
A lot of people would panic here.
How many people have ever fought someone with two upper bodies?
Probably none.
Even I was thrown off—so what about everyone else?
In that moment, the two-bodied illusion charged.
They said the illusions here carried traces of real martial artists.
That meant the martial artist inside that illusion had actually existed.
SHHRRRK—.
The three-section staff flew in fast, and I reacted and dodged.
FLRRRK—.
Then the flexible sword bent like a willow branch, twisting wildly as it burrowed in at an impossible trajectory toward me.
Getting hit wouldn’t matter, but if I let that happen, I wouldn’t be able to predict the movements of other trainees—so I thought about how others would respond, flicked the blade aside with my palm, and retreated.