When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was this shabby tent.
Looking around he saw two men wiping their sweat away and talking about something.
I am alive.
It was only then did Seol-Hwi think of the cave collapsing before losing his consciousness. After dealing with that monster, he passed out in the cave.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like someone brought him into the barracks. Of course, calling it a “barracks” might be a bit generous.
If one looked, they could see he was placed on a smooth wooden board and a rough thick bed with linen.
“Oh, are you awake?”
While he was thinking, a man started talking to him. Seol-Hwi struggled to raise his throbbing body.
“Brat. Do not take long and follow me.”
He tossed something like he was annoyed and went out, and Seol-Hwi followed him right away.
After walking for a while, Seol-Hwi was a bit shocked when he noticed the Supreme Pavilion. However, it was not possible to get his attention, so he just followed him.
Soon after, when the library appeared, he nodded to himself.
Well, this is one of the offices of the Earth Demon.
Apparently, it looked like he came here to meet the Earth Demon. In the meantime, another question came to his mind.
In the past, he thought it was simply normal, but now when he thought about it again, why was the office of the Earth Demon close to the Supreme Pavilion?
Was the Supreme Pavilion not under the control of the First Disciple?
“You belong to the Supreme pavilion?”
The man asked, making him answer.
“Yes.”
“Then you must wonder why the Earth Demon is here at times.”
What is this? The man who was guiding him started talking about the doubts Seol-Hwi had.
“Actually, this building is used as a training place for the disciple. It is known as a library but there is a lot of training equipment here for the Fourth Disciple.”
“Ah…”
At those words, Seol-Hwi looked up at the library. Come to think of it, he was never able to access anywhere besides the first and second floors.
So, of course, he had no idea what was inside.
“Above all, this is also where the Fourth Disciple stayed when he was first appointed. So even if it is within the territory of the Supreme Pavilion, this space belongs to the Fourth Disciple.”
Now I know one more reason why the Supreme Pavilion didn’t want to send me here.
In the past, he thought it was because he was hated. But looking at it now, he never thought there would be such circumstances behind it.
“Now, come in.”
As soon as he entered the library, the man led him to the basement. At the door, Du Hong greeted him as if he had been waiting for him.
It has been a while…
The inside of the basement was familiar to him. Even though it was a very old memory, he felt comfortable as if he was back to his hometown.
Seol-Hwi looked back.
“But, why did you bring me here?”
He moved to the main topic right then.
“Right, this is the second test.”
“Uh?”
“This section is a question and answer exam. And the contents of the exam comes from the books here.”
“If it is books… Ah!”
Looking at densely piled books he sighed.
The man smiled at that.
“The details will be explained to you by the elder who will be here soon, so I will leave for now.”
The man left with those words and disappeared without looking back.
Seol-Hwi looked at the books with a blank expression. Tens of thousands, no, too many books were around him. And these were not just books about martial arts, but many more unexpected ones regarding poetry, music, and medicine.
And they wanted him to read all of these?
It cannot be. They’d say to pick out around 100 and then test me with them.
Seol-Hwi smiled awkwardly at the thought that he had over imagined. He then slowly took a look around at the books.
Kiik
But then the door opened and two people walked in.
“You passed the test? Congratulations.”
It was the Earth Demon, and next to him was an old man Seol-Hwi had never seen before.
“Thank you.”
“But… how did you pass?”
“Uh?”
“When I first met you, your skills weren’t that strong.”
“That…”
Seol-Hwi caught his breath.
Come to think of it, this question was pretty natural.
There were quite a few monsters in the cave which should have killed him. So when Seol-Hwi took a breath, the Earth Demon said,
“You will have to answer right. You see, there are a lot of guys around who are after me.”
His expression brightened, but Seol-Hwi was well aware that this intention for asking this was different.
The lips of the Earth Demon were smiling. For some reason, he took that as a warning to head down to the underworld.
How do I answer?
That is when Seol-Hwi was worried.
And his eyes saw. Just in time, as if waiting for this moment, they appeared.
<Choose from the three options.> ▶It wasn’t that difficult to survive. One day, a war broke out in the cave and the monsters fought amongst themselves. ▷There was a pill in the body of the monsters. With that I managed to increase my martial arts and I was able to deal with the final one. ▷Actually, I am the disciple of Cheon Miryo.
Ah!
The moment he saw the three choices, Seol-Hwi was convinced. The first and second were not the right answers.
At first glance, the answer seemed nice, but the last monster he faced was on a different level.
The abilities of the two were something which would not be handled with just taking the spiritual energy core of the monsters.
And the other one. The third was one that had already been verified.
It was because it was the answer he gave to the Earth Demon in the past.
Seol-Hwi chose the third option.
<Do you want to select ‘Actually I am the disciple of Cheon Miryo’?>
And he waited.
“…What!?”
The Earth Demon was visibly shocked, but Seol-Hwi was calm. It was because Cheon Miryo never showed herself in the sect, so, of course, there was no way to confirm the truth.
“Right. If that is the case… I understand.”
After saying that, the Earth Demon smiled and said,
“However… why did you bother coming under me?”
“Master asked me to look at the wider world. Said that the Earth Demon would be a nice person who can help me grow and lead.”
“That was… she really said that?”
“Yes.”
After he lied once, the lie came out naturally. At those words, the Earth Demon nodded slowly and glanced to the side.
The middle-aged man stepped in.
“This secret warrior has a total of three tests, this is the second one. The first goal of this test is to see how good your ability to memorize is and the second is to find out how much you know about martial arts. Within the time of three months, you will have to read these books and then use them as a reference to answer the questions.”
“All these books?”
Seol-Hwi asked in shock.
“Right. A secret warrior will have to perform numerous missions based on the situation and at times you will head behind the enemy lines to check their movements and sometimes take unknown jobs. This means you need to have the basic knowledge and be familiar with the theory of martial arts regardless of whether you are a warrior or not. In addition, even if it is not too extensive, you need to have eyes for poetry, calligraphy, and medicine.”
Na Gak pointed to one of the bookshelves and said,
“Everything is in here. All topics will be divided into 10 questions, taken from a book, and you need to get a huge score of memorization.”
“Ah…”
Seol-Hwi opened his mouth wide. He was speechless at the books he saw and Na Gak added,
“And, all the books in here are written by the Earth Demon.”
“UH!?”
Seol-Hwi looked at the Earth Demon with a puzzled expression.
All these books? There had to be around a hundred thousand.
Ah, so that is why.
Seol-Hwi narrowed his eyes.
White Light Body Demonic Martial Arts in the past. He knew right away what he was using. Was it not a situation where it became clear for what reason the Earth Demon was here?
Is it different from the secret warriors I knew of?
Seol-Hwi had been a secret warrior in the past. In the past, he took the role to bring back Ma Taryong.
But it seemed like a different role this time.
“I will give you three months. The problems will be on the subject of the martial sects of Kangho, weapons, pills, martial arts, poetry, calligraphy, poison, and their antidotes. We will take them from all that.”
After that, the Earth Demon smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
“You did good.”
He said that and turned. And the man next to him too.
“Haaa.”
Seol-Hwi was bewildered.
This number of books would make one die at the sight of them, and he had to read them all in just three months.
He just stood there in shock.
“That… Earth Demon.”
It was then they reached the 13th floor. Na Gak could not hold in his curiosity and asked,
“What?”
“Is there any reason to do all that?”
“Huh, why? Do you not like it?”
Kiik!
The Earth Demon entered the room and Na Gak too followed him inside.
“Even the most gifted kid cannot digest that much in three months. Of course, they can read it, but understanding is all tough. So they wouldn’t be able to understand it all.”
“…”
“Don’t you usually only ask about martial arts? Why all of that?”
“Just.”
“…?”
“I just wanted to try it out.”
The Earth Demon hung his robe on a side and looked at Na Gak.
“Didn’t he say he was the disciple of Cheon Miryo? One of the best warriors in our sect? Since he is the disciple of such a person, I became curious about his skills.”
“But, this is a test the Earth Demon….”
“I will make use of that child.”
“Eh?”
Looking at the puzzled Na Gak, the Earth Demon said with a serious expression.
“When I first saw him, he was just a second rate warrior. He was a child who couldn’t even use his body properly, let alone do this.”
“…”
“But it is so different now. He has already reached the super master level in two months. Do you think such growth is possible to achieve within just three months?”
“…Not possible.”
“Right, that is what I think.”
Na Gak was shocked.
“Then, are you saying the child has approached you intentionally?”
“Right. I cannot think of anything else besides that.”
“Then doesn’t that mean that the other disciple’s spies might be here?”
“I am not sure yet. Because he could be the disciple of Cheon Miryo. So for now…”
The Earth Demon spoke with certainty.
“We check his head. What does he know and how much?”
Na Gak understood the meaning of it.
Depending on what areas he lacks in and what areas he was proficient in, they will figure out his true purpose behind all this.
“Aren’t you curious?”
“Uh. What…”
The Earth Demon walked to the window. He looked at the library and the continued,
“Is that child a disaster sent by the heavens or…”
“…”
“A gift?”