NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5: The Martial Path.(2)
[Six months later.]
Calling an assembly out in the main hall, the senior instructor stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze focused firmly on the students below.
"I see that all of you have improved your skills. However, half of you will die today. When you enter the trial of life and death, you will meet a near death experience. Simply training hard will not guarantee your survival."
A small, sinister smile appeared on his face as he continued, "Struggle with all your might. If you fail, you will die slowly and painfully, with your limbs being eaten alive!"
WHOOSH!
His crimson Qi flared up, the pressure from it encompassing everyone in the room.
"Remember! Our cult is all about the survival of the strongest! The weak are not needed! Become strong, both physically and mentally. Then, our cult will be a place you can call home!"
After his speech, the instructors split the students into different groups and sent the first group into a line of caves.
As they got to the entrance of the caves, they were told to split up and each student had a cave for themselves. When they entered, the cave was sealed.
'This is it! My first real battle after all of this training.'
Number 800, having grown a bit wider and more defined than before, walked down the candle lit hallway, sword in hand.
The moment he past the point the light of the candles failed to reach, he sensed the aura of something hostile staring at him.
'There it is!'
Number 800 could feel the viscous aura encapsulating his body, the feeling of fear trying to force it's way into his bones.
"Heh."
He soon laid eyes on the source of this terrible aura. It was a large beast, a gray wolf at that.
These wolves were known as the alpha predator's across various parts of the world.
Judging by the aura coming from this one, Number 800 deduced that it was even stronger because of some intervention made by the instructors.
"So, you're just a beast eh? Then, this fight is already over."
Throwing his iron sword to the side, Number 800 opened his palm, causing the Black Mortal Blade to appear.
"Grrrrrr..."
The beast's growls were ignored by Number 800 as he felt the blade in his grip, slightly unsheathing it to have a look at its splendor.
"Beast. You wanna know something? The first time I held this blade, I couldn't even pick it up. Now, it feels as light as a feather."
Of course, the beast lacked reason and only wanted to do one thing.
To devour the prey in front of him.
"ARGGHG!!"
It's mouth watering, the beast rushed at Number 800, it's eyes focused on the meat in front of it.
"Sigh..."
Number 800 didn't even look at the beast as he slowly stepped forward, arriving behind the creature in a flash.
'Ashina Cross.'
The black mortal blade was already sheathed as he wiped the blood that was splattered across the face.
Number 800 didn't even glance at the creature while getting unsummoned the black mortal blade and picked up his iron sword.
As he walked away, he could smell the rancid blood of the beast leaking from its bisected lifeless body. The creature was dead before it's own mind could even register that Number 800 moved.
That was the amount of mastery Number 800 reached in the way of the sword.
He had mastered every move in the [Senpou Esoteric Text], [Three Basics Of The Jian], [Six Combinations Of The Fist], [Movement Of Wind And Cloud], and half of the arts within the [Ashina Esoteric Text].
What caused his mastery to increase rapidly were the little pieces of advice Isshin left in the text. It was like he was being personally taught by the Sword Saint himself.
Walking forward in the darkness, a door suddenly opened in front of him, revealing the light.
"My eyes..."
Number 800 suddenly found himself in a large room by himself, with multiple doors just like the one he just came from all around him.
"Guess I'm the first one here."
Number 800 sat down in a corner and closed his eyes, reminiscing on his technique when he killed the wolf. It was too slow and lacked a lot of finesse, but he was lucky that his opponent was just an alpha wolf, not another skilled swordsman.
After about an hour passed, every child who survived the challenge had arrived. The weaker ones were injured and bruised, while the stronger students didn't have any notable injuries to speak of.
If Number 800 had to guess, maybe a little over half of the students died in this trial.
Suddenly, out of a room in the center, the senior instructor appeared.
As usual, he clasped his hands behind his back and said, "Today, half of you died. Pity. As for the rest of you, you have survived well. Henceforth, you have been acknowledged as demonic soldiers of our sect. By order of the sect leader, we will give you a reward."
Reaching into a large pouch at his side, the senior instructor pulled out a small red pill, raised it above his head and continued, " It's the Demonic Medicine Of Ayu Kalpa. We will provide each of you with three of them. Take them immediately."
After stepping forward to collect his portion, Number 800 sat down cross-legged and ate the pills, promptly absorbing the barbaric Qi running through his body. This process took a short while, but in time, he managed to complete the process.
'These medicines increased my Qi by quite a bit. I wonder, what level am I at right now?'
When everyone was finished absorbing the medicine and adjusting their Qi, the senior instructor said, "Congratulations in becoming a level stronger. However, that was not the only reward our leader has bestowed upon you."
Opening his arms wide, a foreboding smile appeared on his face.
"Today, you will start to learn martial arts in earnest. And those martial arts, will be acknowledged as the best of the best anywhere in the world. Follow me!"
Turning around while motioning to the students with his hand, the senior instructor lead them through a series of caves, eventually stopping when they got to two massive double doors with a sign above them.
[Divine Vault Of Demonic Sea]
The students were flustered as they wondered what this place was. Most of them never heard of such a place within the cult.
"Some of you might have already heard of this place. Normally, no one is even allowed to be alive near this place. Be thankful to the benevolence of our leader as he granted you access, impressed by your growth."
Number 800 clenched his fist as excitement appeared upon his face.
'More martial arts! Yes!'
He couldn't wait to get into the vault.
As the senior instructor opened the doors, he shouted, "Before you enter this place, remember! You are only allowed here once! And today only! You are only allowed to bring one book from here. So be careful with your decision. I hope you select a martial art that suits you."
The moment the senior instructor let them in, Number 800 went to the section that contained sword arts and started browsing them with great interest.
There were so many martial arts there that Number 800 felt as if he was in a dream.
An hour passed and he still hadn't chosen a martial art yet. He had just spent all that time reading various books, gaining many insights into the realm of sword masters.
Another hour passed, but Number 800 still hadn't chosen yet. By now, most of the children had found martial arts and were waiting outside.
'Compared to the stuff in Ashina Esoteric Text, most of these sword styles are third rate. Then there's the second half of the text which also teaches spear techniques, which is the last thing one would expect from the Sword Saint. But, I still want to master everything in that text, whether it is sword or spear. Then...I know what to do."
Taking a good look through every book in the sword section, Number 800 finally found an art worthy of his attention.
It was called the [Flying Flash Sword]. It was a powerful style of swordsmanship passed down within the Soseondang Clan, an ancient martial clan that no longer existed. They focused on nothing but the ultimate understanding of the sword. As a result, masters of this style moved at untraceable speeds.
It was perfect for him.
Grabbing the book, Number 800 went over to the spear art section, quickly browsing the books.
As he walked down the aisle, he suddenly saw an old, seemingly ancient book sticking out from behind the bookshelves.
The book was so far behind the bookshelves that it seemed as if it had been there before the divine vault even existed.
Quietly summoning the black mortal blade, Number 800 reached for the paper by taking advantage of the odachi's length and brought it closer to him with the tip.
'Let's see, what does this say...hm. It's called Blood Dance Killing Formation. It says it was a spear-based martial art created by Pung Baek, the Bloody Godly Spear almost 200 years ago. It doesn't seem so impressive, but...'
Slightly unsheathing the mortal blade, Number 800 folded the book into the sheathe of the weapon and desummoned it, hiding it in a foolproof location.
'...It's old enough that I don't think whoever is responsible for these shelves cares for its wellbeing. I don't even think they know it exists. Heh, they won't miss it.'
Number 800, holding the [Flying Flash Sword] in his grip, left the Divine Vault, joining the rest of children outside.
After everyone came out, the senior instructor inspected every student one by one to make sure no one took any extra martial arts. Then, when the inspection was complete, the students were sent back to their abodes to train.
Since the First gate of life and death had been completed, the students got a lot more free time to train in the arts they chose.
For Number 800, this just meant doing the same thing every day. Train in his martial arts, exercise, cultivate, sleep, then do it over again the next day. He even started training in the [Shinobi Esoteric Text] around this time.
Time flowed like a river, steadily, but quickly, and just like that, three years passed by....